Bastard Heir
by faker4trash
Summary: AU OC OOC: Uchiha Okami just wanted to be ignored by his fellow clansmen. With everyone conspiring against him, this seems impossible. It doesn't help that he might become the first Wolf Sage in decades. He just wants to be left alone. Rated M for a torture scene in a later chapter. It's not really that graphic, but I wanted to be safe and not get flagged.
1. Wolf

"Bastard," was the general muttering that always followed me when I walked through the Uchiha compound to the home I shared with my father. It didn't matter how well I did. It was always the same.

I ignored it though. It didn't matter. No matter what, I was still an Uchiha. My mother, whoever she was, only mattered because she had given me life.

I arrived home, dropped my mostly empty backpack by the door, then went out back to the small fenced in training area my father had set up for me. A schedule was important, and I always trained as soon as I got home from school. I would train until the sunset, then I would eat. My father would get home just before I had to go to bed, and he would tell me a story about one of the Hokages or Sannin or a famous Uchiha (typically, although there were also other stories occasionally). Then I would go to sleep and wake the next morning at dawn to train for an hour before getting ready for school.

A rat ran into the training grounds. I caught it easily, cradling it in my hands long enough to put it back on the other side of the fence around the training grounds, offering it a small piece of bread before retreating again. I did this with all animals that wandered into the training grounds, which inevitably endeared me to several of the weaker ninken and acquainted me with a very small number of the stronger ones. I even saw a Hatake dog at one point, though he had been on a mission to find an Uchiha. He'd still lingered long enough for me to give him a small treat.

Then it was back to training, working to make sure my skills surpassed those of everyone in the Academy. The sooner I could become a jonin, the sooner I could move out of the compound and finally stop being judged for my Uchiha heritage, unless I gained sharingan. If that happened, I wouldn't be allowed to leave and join the ANBU, as I had dreamed of since I could remember. Of course, drawing attention to myself for being skilled would be dangerous as well, so I didn't let anyone at the school see my level of skill if I could help it.

Angry at the thoughts roaming through my head, I started training harder, hoping to reach the state of exhaustion that would make such thoughts much harder to maintain. I had never managed to push myself hard enough to block them entirely, and I suspected that such a thing would require me to pass out.

My fists started to ache, so I paused long enough to wrap them, knowing that bloodied fists would only get me grounded from after school training, no matter the fact that they could easily be healed.

The rage boiled higher though, and it felt like I couldn't even contain it anymore. I opened my mouth, planning on letting out an angry shout, not realizing the signs that my hands had instinctively formed seconds before. The fire spilled out, burning the training dummies to the ground and setting the fence on fire. I rushed to put it out, hoping that my sudden high output of chakra and relative murderous intent hadn't drawn anyone's attention. Of course, I was never that lucky.

Fugaku-sama appeared in the small training grounds. He had done this twice before, each marking a time when I had mastered one of the things the Uchiha were known for. The first had been when I'd mastered throwing shuriken, and the second had been when I'd managed my first genjutsu.

I bowed deeply automatically, knowing that I had to display the utmost respect for the man, no matter the close familial relationship between the two of us. I was a bastard child after all, so I had to show everyone deeper respect than would have otherwise been normal. That was why, unlike what would happen normally, my father had moved out of the home of his parents.

Fugaku-sama remarked, looking at the destruction I had caused in my frustration, "It seems the flame of the Uchiha burns hot in you, Okami."

"Thank you, sir," I agreed, careful to keep my head bowed even as I straightened from the deeper bow I had given the man. I'd gotten in trouble with some of the heads of the branch families for showing them the disrespect of daring to look them in the eyes. The only way I would earn that right would be if I proved to be a true Uchiha, which would require the sharingan. I knew better than that though. I would never be accepted, so I would do whatever it took to avoid the sharingan, and if I did have it, I would hide it with everything I had.

"I imagine Itachi has already taught you what our clan's symbol means," Fugaku-sama stated, although his tone made it a question. Still, I wasn't supposed to speak unless asked a question, and I couldn't trust that had been his intention, so I nodded as best I could with my head bowed.

Fugaku-sama remarked, "You are better than most children at remembering to give honor to your elders. Did Itachi teach you that as well?"

"No, sir," I replied, "It was a lesson taught to me by those I failed to properly respect." I touched the burn marks on both forearms. Most parents assumed incorrectly that there had been a mishap with boiling water. They were wrong. The scars were from a high ranking Uchiha that hadn't liked when I'd looked at his face and forgotten to bow, no matter my young age.

"You are still considered an heir to the clan. I'm surprised that anyone would dare," Fugaku-sama said.

I made no response.

He continued, "and I can't imagine Itachi would stand for such treatment of his son. What did you tell him?"

"That I spilled boiling water on them," I replied, "He has too many enemies as it is. He does not need one among the Heads of the Branch Families"

"I'm sure that person will come to regret his decision one day," Fugaku-sama mused.

I didn't tell him that I doubted it would happen. He was the head of the most powerful of the branch families, and I didn't want to ever be in a position where I could be more powerful than he was.

Fugaku-sama disappeared, and I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding. Then I reached up to feel my face to make sure that I hadn't accidentally burned myself in my first attempt at breathing fire. Happy to find even my eyebrows intact, I went about taking down the destroyed training dummies and replacing them with fresh ones from the small shed attached to the house. Once I was done, I continued my angry training, wondering why I had to master all the Uchiha jutsus so easily. If I could have been a failure, people would have felt less threatened by me, and then I could have just faded into the background.

I was surprised to hear the front door jingle open a little more than an hour before dark. In seconds, I was inside, fully prepared to defend myself if necessary, as I'd had issues with drunken men attacking me, convinced that eliminating a bastard heir was in the best interest of the clan, even if Fugaku-sama hadn't renounced me. Even if there was no law that I couldn't one day lead the clan.

My father smiled at me and said, "Hello, Okami."

"Welcome home, father," I replied, bowing to him, and then walking forward to hug him. He said it wasn't necessary that I bow to him, but it was bad to get out of the habit, when failing to do so in public would only have me targeted by certain elements in the Uchiha clan that believed every rule had to be vigorously maintained.

"Fugaku-sama asked that I be allowed to go home early," he told me, "The way he did when you performed that genjutsu for the first time."

I informed him, "I breathed fire today."

The smile turned a little sad then. He knew about my desire not to become heir to the Uchiha clan, so each step I took in that direction earned me comfort. He swept me into another hug, not caring that I often insisted that I was too old for such treatment. For once, I didn't mind so much. The anger, fear, and sadness drained from me as I was enveloped by his familiar feel, smell, and chakra. Nothing could hurt me there, and it didn't matter that I was a bastard son. It didn't hurt that I had to be so careful at school not to show an ounce of promise if only so that I didn't earn any more attention from the clan. No one cared if my best friend was a stray cat I saw only a couple of times a week. ( _It's the demon cat because that cat will_ _ **never**_ _die_.)

Of course, showing no promise in school was _hard_. The sensei all had sharp eyes that could pick up on the potential of the laziest Nara. My homework being perfect didn't help, and even purposefully failing at taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu hadn't helped anything because somehow they could _tell_. If I wasn't careful, they'd let me take the graduation exam before I'd finished my first year. ( _Yes, at six years old, he thinks he's too old for hugs and is adept at lying. He was forced to grow up quickly by his father's frequent absences to support them and the hate his clan members felt for him._ )

We went out of the Uchiha compound to my favorite restaurant, a BBQ place that let you cook your own meat, for dinner. After all, news would spread all to quickly that I'd managed to breath fire (Fugaku-sama liked to brag about my accomplishments a little too much), and people would think something was up if we didn't celebrate, even when I didn't feel like it. The food lifted my mood though, and the story my father told when we got home was about the Fourth Hokage, who was by far my favorite of all the heroes of Konoha.

That night, I dreamed of the red and black of the sharingan, and I woke the next morning in a cold sweat, terrified by the creepy dream.

Class that day was unusual.

Kie-sensei told us, "Today, we're going to be doing an assessment to see if any of you are ready for the final examination. Don't worry if you don't pass, this assessment is just to see how far along you are and whether or not you're already prepared to be a genin." She looked from person to person, but her eyes passed over me. I _knew_ that this test was all for me.

She had us line up and asked us all to create a clone. Mine was missing a left arm, its eyes were two different colors, and I'd managed to put its boots on the wrong feet. Many other examples looked intensely similar to mine.

"Okami, I can't even see through it," she said happily. That was when I realized my mistake. Even with my purposeful goofs, the chakra behind it was too trained not to make it fully corporeal, while everyone else's were strangely translucent. She continued down the line, offering a compliment or critique to each clone she saw. I glared up at mine and realized in horror that I'd given it a sharingan along with the black eye I had left the same.

"Now, class, you're going to pair off to spar with taijutsu," she told us.

She paired me with one of the strongest kids in the class, Hyuuga Tsuki, who had already figured out how to display the eyes that were the marker of her clan. I actually had hope that I could lose badly enough to convince her I wasn't ready to be a genin.

We headed outside, and Kai-sensei called, "Uchiha and Hyuuga will go first."

Tsuki and I entered the training circle, and I made sure my defensive stance was a little bit wrong, although it was difficult. The second Tsuki attacked, I corrected automatically and blocked her first few punches, then dodged out of the way of a kick. I threw a hard punch when Tsuki left a big enough gap in her defenses that even the stupidest ninja couldn't help but attack. Unfortunately, it seemed that Tsuki had a bit of a glass jaw. That or I forgot not to infuse my hit with chakra. The hit probably fractured her jaw, and it sent her flying.

Tsuki sprang back up, rubbing her jaw a little, but determined to continue fighting. I still held back, only punching as hard as I dared whenever there was a super clear opening, while allowing Tsuki to land several hits.

The girl demanded, obviously frustrated, "Stop holding back!" I backed off, a little shocked that she had noticed at all.

She attacked me with a vengeance, forcing me to actually fight better or risk getting injured badly enough that I wouldn't be able to train when I got home. Another accidentally chakra infused punch landed, this time on her rib cage, knocking her back and breaking one or two ribs in the process. She didn't get up, and she seemed to be having a hard time breathing.

I panicked, rushing over to quickly perform first aid, as everyone else seemed to be frozen in shock.

"Nara, go get the nurse," I ordered sharply, my eyes alighting on the boy that I knew was the fastest kid in class when he bothered to try. He was in the school in seconds, while I put my head over her right lung where I had hit her. I didn't hear any sounds of air passage, but thankfully I heard them loud and clear on the left side. She was having a hard time breathing through her mouth, but with medical attention so close at hand, I figured it would be better if I waited it out.

The nurse appeared next to me and asked, "What happened?"

"Her right lung collapsed," I told her, "We were sparring."

The nurse double checked my assessment, then quickly treated Tsuki. She then ordered, "Don't do anything strenuous for at least a week, Hyuuga. I don't want to hear you ended up in the hospital because of this."

"Yes, ma'am," Tsuki agreed quickly.

The nurse remained outside to watch the rest of the bouts and keep an eye on Tsuki.

Kie-sensei told me, "That was an impressive showing, Okami."

I felt the same anger from the day before start to boil inside of me, so I disappeared into the forest before the third test, just running hard and fast to get away from the school for a while. They couldn't hold the test again the next day or needlessly stall just because I disappeared or it would be a clear sign of favoritism.

Finally, I reached a large clearing with a stump in the center of it. Still feeling angry, I started practicing taijutsu on the stump, just trying to drain away the anger. Everyone always said Uchiha were hot tempered, but I did my best to restrain my anger most of the time, but it was harder when people really were out to get me.

"Okami!" Someone shouted, and maybe Kie-sensei had found an excuse to send someone out looking for me, but I didn't care! I turned away from the voice and ran deeper into the woods, which seemed to get thicker and thicker as I traveled. I slowed down a little, knowing that I was very close to a dangerous training ground. Still, I didn't hear the voice anymore.

I turned so that I could skirt around the training ground and enter the village near the Uchiha compound. Before I could get very far though, I was confronted with a _huge_ wolf that was taller than two of my father stacked on top of each other. It was easy to recognize him from the book on summon contracts, so I quickly did what the book had said if I were to ever meet the somewhat dangerous wolf boss. I bowed as deeply at the waist as I could, nearly touching my nose to my knees, but not wanting to put myself too far off balance in case I needed to start running.

The wolf boss greeted, his voice very low and somewhat gruff, "Hello, pup. Where is your pack?"

"They do not want me," I told him honestly, since lying to any boss was very dangerous.

"I am sad to hear that, little pup," the wolf boss replied, "Perhaps one day they will."

I replied, "If they do, then they would not let me leave."

"What is your name, pup?" the wolf boss inquired.

"I am Uchiha Okami," I informed him, "My father named me hoping I would find a pack to call my own one day."

The wolf boss told me, "When you have become no more than a whisper in the night, meet me in the caves to the north, and you can be part of my pack, little pup."

"Thank you," I replied.

In a whisper of wind, the wolf boss vanished, and I could again hear my fellow students shouting my name.

I found all of them, one by one so that they wouldn't accidentally enter the dangerous training ground or insult the wolf boss, then brought the whole troop of them back to the school with me. It didn't make sense that my teacher had even let them leave, although Shikadai Nara had laid down on the ground just inside the tree line to nap.

Kie-sensei asked, "Okami, are you alright? There's a strange chakra signature on you."

I focused on my chakra and found that I had indeed had my reserves filled by the wolf boss without even noticing.

"I'm fine, Kie-sensei," I replied, "I just saw something in the woods is all." I didn't plan on telling anyone what I'd seen. The moment felt too private. Maybe I'd tell my father eventually, but that wouldn't be for a while if I had any say in it.

"Now that we're all back here, we should finish our little exam," Kie-sensei invited after a moment.

I shifted back suddenly, sensing someone with killing intent nearby. I looked around for them hard, wondering if it was one of my father's enemies, an Uchiha angry at some small misstep I had made, or an enemy of Konoha. Finally, my eyes found an ANBU nearby, and my blood ran cold. This had been the final test. There was no way that the ANBU would have been that easy to find if it wasn't.

The ANBU in the weasel mask met my eyes, then held a finger to his lips.

Rin asked impatiently, "What's the final test?"

"I'm sorry, but that was a secret round, and it was pass-fail," Kie-sensei told us with a sigh, "It seems only two of you will be taking the test to see if you'll become genin.

I looked at Nara Shikadai, and he met my eyes and tilted his head down.

The ANBU and the killing intent vanished simultaneously.

Kie-sensei said, "We'll be taking a short break from school before we start training again, just a week and a half long, so be back here Wednesday after next bright and early. Will the two that passed please hang around?"

The rest of the class was willing enough to admit that they hadn't been among that number, especially since they were excited for the short break. Shikadai and I stayed.

"I know neither of you want to graduate early," Kie-sensei offered, "but staying here at the academy will only keep you from reaching your full potential. If either of you try to sabotage your performance in the genin exam, I will do everything in my power to make you take it every three weeks until you fail to sabotage yourselves."

"Yes sensei," Shikadai and I agreed. There was no choice. I was going to have to pass.

We left the school yard together then went our separate ways. If Shikadai wasn't so lazy and I wasn't so insistent about keeping a schedule, we might have been friends in school, but as it was, neither of us had the will to begin or maintain a friendship. At best, I'd say we were acquaintances that recognized each other's potential.

People paid even more attention to me on that particular trip home, and I was a little shocked to see Uncle Sasuke waiting for me in front of the door to my house. He remarked, "Your teacher called and said you ran into the woods during school today."

I bowed, then let him into the house without looking him in the eyes. Once we were inside, I felt it was safe to respond to the statement.

"I was upset, and I didn't want to hurt anyone, so I went into the woods to relieve some anger," I informed him.

"Oh?" he asked, "What about the weird chakra signature you have right now?"

It seemed I had no choice. I told him, my voice going soft just in case anyone was trying to listen in, "I got relatively close to that dangerous training ground father told me not to go to unless I was with someone, planning on going around it to sneak home. Before I could though, I met a wolf at least twice as tall as father. I bowed to him, and after a short conversation, he told me that, when I was no more than a whisper in the night, I should meet him in the caves to the north to become part of his pack. Not wanting my classmates to meet the wolf and forget how to react, I rounded them up, as Kie-sensei had sent them to look for me. I didn't notice until I got back to the school and Kie-sensei pointed it out, but he refilled my chakra, and there seems to be more of it than there was before. Perhaps I was a blessing from the boss?"

"That's quite impressive. No one has gotten a contract with the wolves since the last man to hold the scroll died, and that was only just after I was born," Uncle Sasuke told me.

"Please don't tell Fugaku-sama," I begged, "He brags of all my accomplishments, and it makes everyone here hate me more. Besides, when the wolf boss told me, it felt private, and even revealing it to you might have made him rescind his offer."

Uncle Sasuke promised, ruffling my hair, "I won't tell him. Although I'm sure he'll broadcast it to the whole village when you do form the contract."

"I hope I'm a jonin without a sharingan by then," I replied, "Then it wouldn't matter to him as much."

"Fugaku loves you, no matter your heritage, even if he has a strange way of showing it," Uncle Sasuke told me.

I nodded reluctantly.

Uncle Sasuke added, "I heard that you managed to breath fire yesterday."

"It was an accident," I told him, "Father taught me the hand signs for it a while ago and told me to try using them when it felt right. I accidentally set the fence on fire, but there's always a bucket of water out there for when Father trains with fire jutsu."

"That's good. It would have been bad if you'd accidentally lit the house on fire, although then the news would have traveled all the faster," he offered.

I added, "Fugaku-sama let father get off work early enough yesterday so that we could go out to dinner."

"I guess neither of you will want to go out to eat tonight then," Uncle Sasuke said with a sigh, "and here I heard that you'll get to take the genin test tomorrow."

"You already heard about that?" I asked, feeling a little depressed.

He asked conspiratorially, "Who do you think was in the ANBU mask?"

"I should have noticed that," I complained with a frown, "Your chakra signature if familiar to me. Even with the killing intent, I should have recognized it."

"That was your first time feeling killing intent that strongly, and I was also partly masking my chakra, or the test would have been too easy," Uncle Sasuke offered comfortingly.

I still wasn't happy, but I shrugged it off and said, "We can probably go out to dinner, but most places are closed by the time Father gets home, and I have to be at the school for the genin test tomorrow anyway. Maybe we should celebrate if I pass it, since Father doesn't work on Fridays."

"Alright," Uncle Sasuke relented, "At least let me make you dinner."

I nodded eagerly, glad that I wouldn't have to worry about that, although remised that I wouldn't get to see how exactly the wolf boss's chakra had affected me until the next morning.

* * *

Later that Night

Sasuke

Itachi helped Okami get settled for bed, and then we went into the kitchen to have some tea.

Itachi asked, knowing I would have found out, "What's with his chakra?"

"He met the wolf boss in the woods today and gained his favor. He'll probably get that contract a little before he's a chuunin, if I had to guess. It would be a good advantage in the last stage of the exam," I offered.

"He's going to become a genin tomorrow," Itachi remarked with a shake of his head, "and before long, whether he wants it or not, he'll get that sharingan."

I nodded and added, "I haven't told Fugaku yet that he'll be taking the exam tomorrow, but that's just because I'm hoping to keep him from meddling in what jonin Okami gets assigned. There are several good ones up this year, and I can't imagine Okami failing to succeed no matter who he gets."

"Kakashi signed up for another team didn't he?" Itachi pointed out, "They usually try to offload prodigies and Uchiha on him."

"Okami would hate him. The man can never be on time for anything. Anyway, do you have any idea who the third on his team is going to be? I figure Shikadai is going on his team, since Okami will push him to improve, and Shikadai should be able to keep up with him," I offered.

Itachi shook his head and said, "I've got no idea. No one in the graduating class seems like they'll be a good fit for those two. Most of the skilled students in that class graduated a year early when they started the pretest in the lower grades to see if anyone was ready to take the genin exam early. Okami probably thought his teacher was out to get him, since they keep the exam a secret from first year students, so that they don't push themselves too hard."

"She was kind of sabotaging him," I remarked, "He kept trying his hardest to fail, but no one would let him. He made the sloppiest clone he could, but the details were too perfect and it was completely corporeal. Then he tried to use the young Hyuuga, but of course she managed to force him to slip up a couple of times and fight her properly, which made the girl end up with a collapsed lung. She'll probably graduate next year, and it seems she doesn't mind Okami's heritage too much as long as he doesn't hold back when he fights her. She definitely blushed when he was performing first aid."

"Fugaku will be happy," Itachi remarked.

I told him, "He's going to be ecstatic when he finds out about the wolf boss in a few years… Maybe… Okami said the wolf boss's requirement was that he be a whisper in the night before he gets a contract with the boss. I know that three chuunin exams from now, Konoha is going to host. Naruto might be willing to follow a suggestion that could prove if Okami is ready for that contract."

"That's a good idea," Itachi agreed, "Of course, it all depends on his jonin sensei. Okami probably already has the skill to be a chuunin, but he needs more experience before he faces the exam."

"Maybe Kakashi would be good for him. Not that it matters. It's up to Naruto, his advisers, and the clan council who he gets," I concluded.

Itachi remarked, "We should get to sleep. I'd like to walk Okami to the exam tomorrow."


	2. Test

Okami

I only trained for half an hour, as father made breakfast, and I didn't want it to go to waste, although I wasn't positive I wanted to eat. Fainting from exhaustion would prove I wasn't ready to be a genin yet. It was no use though, and father walked me to the school. That meant I couldn't even try to skip the exam.

There were a lot of students in Iruka-sensei's class, but I took a seat next to Shikadai in the back, since he was the only one my age. It looked to me like we were the only two from a lower class, which served to prove my theory that it had been a conspiracy against me and possibly also Shikadai.

"Hello, students," Iruka-sensei offered, "We're going to test a ninja skill first, so I'm going to need all of you to get out your kunai." I almost missed it, but he tossed a coin into the air. I waited until it was high above his head, hoping to not impress anyone too much, then threw the kunai. The coin was pinned to the wall behind him, but I was careful not to show off that I had been the one to throw it.

Iruka-sensei remarked, "It seems one of you already understands this test. No throwing more than one kunai. I'll know whose is whose by the chakra signature." He'd never sensed mine before, so I doubted he knew mine was only matching up more with the wolf boss's, not less as I had expected.

Shikadai pinned one next, apparently too lazy to wait. Coin after coin was pinned to the back wall, although some kunai missed, and some were knocked out of the air by other kunai, which would only cause both students to fail. If you failed the first part, you'd have to get perfect scores in the next two to pass.

"Alright, all of you have thrown one kunai, so it's time for the next part. If you'll look under your desk, you'll find a number and a letter. One student has a number that matches yours, and another has a letter that matches yours. These will be the people you compete against," Iruka-sensei informed us, even as he started gathering the kunai from the wall.

Shikadai didn't have the letter or number that matched mine, and I couldn't imagine any opponent would be more difficult than him, even if I didn't know any names or skill levels, and anyone would know my clan from the back of my shirt. Just because they knew my clan didn't mean they knew me. I hadn't been trained the way most Uchiha were. The private tutors refused the bastard child they were sure wouldn't amount to anything. If nothing else, it would satisfy me to prove them wrong.

Sasuke

There were a large number of jonin gathered to watch the exams, either to see if their child would pass or to see their potential future students among those assembled there. Fugaku probably would have been there if his duties had allowed it. He hadn't seemed interested when it had been me or Itachi, but his grandson was another matter entirely. I supposed he was a better grandfather than he was a father.

Kakashi remarked, even as Okami squared off against a huge boy that had probably been held back a year at the very least, "So that's the infamous Uchiha Okami. I feel sorry for the other boy. He thinks he has the advantage."

Okami was relentless from the moment the fight began, obviously already feeling the anger that he usually fought so hard to restrain. It was too easy to see who was going to win. No matter what the bigger boy tried, Okami would have a counter for it. He trained every day to sharpen his skills for far longer than he should have. Itachi was right, he had all the skills necessary to be a chuunin.

"What happened to his arms?" Kakashi asked quietly.

"Itachi thinks one of the Branch Family Heads or Elders decided to teach him respect," I replied, "but he hasn't pinned down which one yet. Okami is very careful to show the proper amount of respect to everyone now. He bows to _Itachi_.," I replied, "At the time, Okami claimed it was boiling water, but there's no way water would burn like that."

Kakashi concluded, "I'll never understand the clan families. Fugaku seems to overwhelmingly approve of him. He never stops bragging about him."

"It seems the first born Uchiha line always ends up being a little bit better than their predecessor," I offered.

"I wouldn't bash the second sons that much," Kakashi offered, closing his only visible eye in a way to suggest a wink, "I know one that almost managed to keep up with a jinchuriki for a long time."

I told him, "I think almost is the key word there."

The fights cycled through too quickly, although not many of the students offered a very impressive display. Shikadai managed to take his opponent out with only one move, proving again that Nara are ultimately lazy genius strategists.

It was Okami's turn yet again, and this time he faced a member of the small Suni clan. The girl launched forward against him, not hesitating for a moment after such hesitation had proven ineffective when her classmate had faced the young boy. Not that it mattered, careful as he was not to cause her permanent injury, Okami brought the potential kunoichi down. It was good she had won her first battle because it looked like Okami had barely even tried against her.

"Tsuki is right," the girl concluded, "You do hold back against girls."

Okami shrugged and left the ring.

"What's that about?" Kakashi asked.

I replied, "He was ordered to fight one of the branch family's daughters who thought he was a push over. Okami didn't lose, and he accidentally broke her arm. The branch family's leader did everything in his power to make Okami's life miserable for the following year and a half. He'll defeat kunoichi, but he won't go all out against them unless he has to."

"Poor kid," Kakashi said with a sigh, "and with a face like that all of them are going to want to flirt with him when he grows up, especially with that family name."

"Which is why…?" I started.

Kakashi shook his head, "It's someone else's turn."

"He's well mannered and practically teaches himself," I argued, "He and the Nara will push each other to succeed. You just need to pick a competent third."

"Have you _seen_ this group?" Kakashi hissed. It was lucky we were further away from the others watching, or one of them might have picked a fight with the Copy Nin.

I countered, "No other jonin could understand them."

Kakashi sighed heavily and looked back at the boys, then back at me slyly.

"They would never allow that," I informed him, "I'm his uncle."

Kakashi pouted under his mask, and if I didn't know he could be terrifying, I would let my guard down in moments like these.


	3. Genin

Okami

I wasn't even panting, and Shikadai lounged lazily next to me. I had only sat down because we were told to when we were done with our fights. It was against my instincts to be off my feet with so much adrenalin going through my system.

Shikadai complained, "You're exhausting."

"Try being me," I suggested.

"Sounds hard," Shikadai remarked, "Temper, clan hates you, worthy heir, prodigy. I like being me better."

I retorted, careful to keep my voice down, "I'm not worthy until I have sharingan. If I don't have sharingan by the time I'm a jonin, I'm not worthy at all."

Shikadai realized my plan instantly.

"Average age?" he inquired.

"No idea," I replied, "No one there likes me, remember. Your clan has a lot of research no one knows about though."

He nodded quickly and offered, "I'll ask my dad too."

"Thank you," I told him.

"Too bad you can't hide anymore if you want to make jonin that fast," Shikadai said with a sigh, "I'll actually have to work."

I pointed out, "You'll get to be lazy when you're a jonin. You can take whatever missions you want."

"Yeah," Shikadai agreed reluctantly.

"Alright," Iruka-sensei said, "There's just one more test before you're officially genin. There are three summons in the forest. If you can find one, then you have passed the third part of the exam.

I grabbed Shikadai's hand and dragged him into the forest. He started running after a minute, complaining, "What a bother." There was only one summon I had ever met, but I could sense a tiny piece of his chakra, so I ran in that direction as fast as I could. Feeding the animals had never paid off so much. Well… there was one time when a talking pigeon agreed to torment one of the worst clan elders for a while…

Finally, we arrived in the clearing, and I smiled brightly at the little dog and offered him one of the treats I kept in my pocket.

Pakkun took it quickly, then offered, "You passed."

"Thank you, Pakkun," I told him with a bow.

"You smell like pack," Pakkun remarked, "Like pack and forest."

I asked, "Would you think I was an animal if you didn't know my chakra?"

"I think you're a wolf now, pup," Pakkun informed me. This blessing was better than the others, and Shikadai looked mildly confused. I'd have to tell him later.

We went back through the forest, slower this time, and then we were back in front of Iruka-sensei again.

He asked, "Give up already?"

"No," I replied, "We found Pakkun."

It seemed like the very trees went silent for a moment. ( _Though Okami wasn't aware of it, that was because the various jonin in the trees were shocked into silence by Okami's ability to quickly track down such a high ranking summon_.)

"Good job," Iruka-sensei offered stiffly. I couldn't really figure out why, so I shrugged it off and, after a moment's deliberation, sat down next to Shikadai in the grass to wait for everyone else to come back. It took almost two hours, during which I had started weaving blades of grass the way I'd seen a woman do once, working towards a small basket. At the very least, it was nice to have my hands busy.

Iruka then called the names in alphabetical order of those who had passes the exam. That meant I was the last one to receive the leaf village headband, not that I minded. It didn't quite fit around my head, as it needed to be adjusted, but I was proud to have earned it.

Slowly yet surely, people came to collect their children. My father and Sasuke arrived together, and they walked with me towards the restaurant district.

Father asked, "Did you try to fail?"

"No, I thought of a new plan last night while checking over the requirements for a clan heir," I informed him, "If I become a jonin before I have sharingan, I won't be considered eligible. It's a technicality, but the Elders and the Branch Family Heads don't like me enough that I think it will work."

"Why do you want to be a shonin so much?" Uncle Sasuke inquired. I had considered giving up the path, as you had to be a shonin in order to inherit the clan.

I told him, my voice softer than it probably should have been, "I want to protect the village and…" I trailed off, unsure how to explain the other group I wanted to protect, "those I care about." I left out the part about finding the pack that the wolf boss had offered me. I had my father and Uncle Sasuke, but it would be nice for that pack to get a little bigger over time. If I was right, Shikadai would make a welcome addition to that pack as he helped me to avoid a legacy I didn't want.

Sasuke

Dinner was a surprisingly cheerful affair, and then Itachi and Okami went home so that Okami could be well rested for meeting his sensei the next day. I went to the Hokage tower and met my father as he left the building, council meeting finished.

"Kakashi has insisted on getting Shikadai and Okami," my father offered, "and when asked who he wanted the third to be, he told the council that if we could think of anyone that could keep up, we were welcome to assign them."

"Okami figured out a new way to escape from being heir," I offered after a moment.

Father sighed and inquired, "What's his plan this time?"

"To become a jonin before activating the sharingan," I replied, "Clan law says if that happens, he can't be heir. It's never been a problem before, but if he gets through the ranks fast enough…"

"He's going to give the Nara a run for his money," Father remarked.

I asked, "Why do you want him to be heir so much?"

"The Elders are doing everything in their power to prevent it," Father explained after a moment, "Which makes no sense. Even if he isn't as pure blooded as a normal heir. Several of the Branch Families have had bastard heirs. It's something about Okami himself. I think one of the Elders had a vision, but none of them have dared to tell me about it."

I offered, "I'll have someone look into it."

"He told me how he got those burns on his arms the other day, but he still refused to give up the perpetrator. Even if he showed disrespect, there was no reason for anyone to damage him that way," Father complained.

"Whoever they were, they'll suffer for it one day," I remarked, "Not even Danzo could stop that from happening."


	4. Mission

Okami

I was trying to meditate in the class room while Shikadai and I waited for whatever jonin we were supposed to end up with. Whoever he was, he was already two hours late, but that wasn't the kind of thing that made me mad. I was more upset about the student that had gone out of his way to insult me, my father, my uncle, and my abilities. Still, it was important to control my anger.

Shikadai snored softly, and his calm breathing helped me to settle my own. I didn't need to breath fire or beat up a training dummy if I could learn to meditate the anger away. Thus far, it wasn't looking good. The wolf boss's chakra wasn't helping anything. It seemed to make the flames of anger burn hotter as though offering them fuel. Still, I did my best to force the rage down into a manageable space in my core, ready to be unleashed if I needed it in a fight.

Finally, the door to the classroom slid open, and there was Hatake Kakashi, rubbing the back of his neck like he felt bad for being so late. I nudged Shikadai just hard enough to wake him up.

He took in our sensei as quickly as I had, and both of us waited for the legendary Copy Nin to speak first.

"Yo," the man greeted after a moment, "I am Hatake Kakashi, your new sensei."

I bowed my head slightly, and Nara waved lazily.

Six Months Later

Shikadai and I were sparring while we waited for Kakashi-sensei to arrive. Surprisingly, after walking with me to my house a few times after training, Shikadai had become less lazy, telling me, "Whatever it takes to get you out of there, we'll do it."

We both paused in a middle of a rapid series of attacks and dodges when we sensed unfamiliar chakra along with Kakashi-sensei's familiar repressed coils. I focused hard on it, but I couldn't get a read on it at all. That wasn't unusual. I was still in training, but I had a pretty good sense that they weren't from a major clan.

Kakashi-sensei arrived along with another man. Sensei did not seem very happy that the man was there at all.

"Hello," the man greeted in a sickly-sweet voice, "I am Danzo."

The name clicked with information I had heard from my father about members of the village council, so I inclined my head slightly, as did Shikadai.

Danzo continued, "Your jonin-sensei thinks you need some more time, but there's a chuunin exam coming up very soon, and many on the council think you deserve the…"

"If sensei doesn't think we're ready, then we will wait," I informed him, cutting him off easily. I wasn't a whisper in the night yet, and I had a feeling I would want a summon for the last stage of the exam.

"There you go, Danzo," sensei offered with a bright grin, "They don't want to try it yet."

I got a sense of killing intent before Danzo disappeared, and I imagined if I were really a wolf, my hackles would have been raised.

I remarked, "I don't like that man."

"He's creepy," Shikadai agreed.

"You'll have six months until you have to deal with him again," Kakashi-sensei offered, "Although I was hoping to wait to have you take the chuunin exams until they're held here in Konoha."

I thought about what little research we had managed to do. One year wouldn't be too much of a setback. As long as I could make jonin before I was thirteen, I would be alright. That seemed to be the average cut off, although some people got sharingan earlier and others later. Thirteen was average though.

Kakashi-sensei continued, "Anyway, we have a mission today to find some missing vendors that were supposed to arrive two days ago. Intel in the area suggests bandits, so it's a C-ranked mission. Be careful, and don't go running off." He turned to lead the way out of the village.

A Few Hours Later

Shikadai

"Not, C-ranked," I complained to myself, trying my best to grab onto my enemies' shadows. Okami was attempting to fight off a large crowd of bandits, while sensei was fighting one on three with a group of missing nin, one of whom was definitely in the bingo book if his kekkeigenki was anything to judge by.

Okami was getting mad, which was good. An angry Okami was a fast, powerful, destructive beast that could take down more opponents than a normal Okami. The only dangerous part was the lack of chakra control and lack of plans, and as long as these guys went down quickly, that wouldn't matter.

I managed to get a few bandits wrapped in the shadows, so I made them all freeze, which let Okami slit their throats. I helped him with the next few, but there were just _so_ many. My chakra reserves weren't yet high enough for me to grab all the shadows, and even doing the trick one more time might make me pass out. Okami breathed fire at them to make them back off, but I could tell he was getting tired.

My eyes flickered around, a sudden thought letting me quickly formulate a plan.

"Light the ground on fire between us and sensei, then disappear," I ordered, and I waited for him to do so, which distracted the bandits long enough for me to start setting up traps in the spaces between the trees so that none of the men would escape.

Okami asked, "Plan?"

"Make it dark," I ordered, "I think… I'm going to try to get them all at once."

Okami nodded, and he pulled out the scroll that had his camping gear in it. He set it on the ground next to me, then started moving through the tree tops quickly with ninja wire, making a web of support for the awning he was about to give me. He didn't have enough wire to blot out the sun, but then he returned and grabbed the scroll with the camping gear. He bit his thumb to open the seal, then brought the tarp for the tent, his sleeping bag, and the tent itself into the trees with him. In moments, the shadows had grown thicker on our part of the clearing, making it easier for me to grab all the men at once.

My chakra was quickly draining, so I turned all the men towards the center, and had them all use their weapons on the person next to them. Okami dashed into the clearing to take care of the few remaining men, even as I fell to my knees, feeling exhausted.

One of the missing nin noticed that Okami was distracted with the last of the bandits, so he dashed away from sensei to take care of him. I had no chakra left, but I still had my voice, "Look out!"

Okami moved faster than any civilian could dream to move. The other ninja, expecting a chakra depleted genin distracted by bandits, was instead met by a vicious shinobi that bared his teeth as he slashed the missing nin's throat. He continued forward, flaring the flames he had created as a distraction, and then cutting down another missing nin.

Kakashi-sensei finally finished off the one with the kekkeigenki, and not a moment too soon, as my own vision was started to fade, and Okami fell to his knees when he tried to step towards me. I saw him pass out just a little before I did. He always did have to go first.

Kakashi

I moved faster than I probably should have after using my sharingan to collect the bodies of the missing nin into a scroll and then pick up my two students. They'd done better than any other genin could have, and I couldn't imagine Team 7 doing any better than they had six months into being a team. It was good they were small, as it meant I could carry them both at once as I rushed at top speed back towards the village. Hopefully, it was just chakra exertion, and the boys were just coated in the bandit's blood.

Shikadai's plan had probably saved all of us, since it let Okami kill the weaker ones among the three missing nin. I rushed straight into the hospital, not even slowing down enough to greet the men working at the gate so that they didn't send anyone after me. I only slowed down once I was in the emergency room of the hospital, surrounded by medics, doctors, and nurses that were quickly starting to check the three of us over.

The boys were taken from my arms, even though I was reluctant to let go of them, and then Naruto was there in front of me, worry etched into his face. I repeated the sentiment both of my genin had said at least three times during the fight, "That wasn't a C-ranked mission. We're lucky to be alive."

"What happened?" Naruto asked, "Please don't tell me it's my fault, or Itachi and Sasuke are going to work together to kill me as painfully as possible."

"No, it seemed normal. There were more bandits than expected, but we wouldn't have engaged them if I didn't think we could handle it. There were missing nin though, and then I couldn't help with the bandits," I explained as quickly as I could.

Naruto concluded, "Then they were sent after you guys or they wandered by and decided to try their luck. Where are they now?"

"In a scroll," I informed him, "I'll turn it over when I debrief officially. The Uchiha are going to want to kill me again."

"That's a constant," Naruto joked with a grin, obviously trying hard to cheer me up.

I replied, "Fugaku didn't turn against the village for that boy. I think this is a little more serious."


	5. Hospital

Okami

I jerked awake, reaching for a kunai, my brain too foggy for me to trust anything around me. The kunai wasn't there, and my hands immediately started forming the signs that would at least give me a small ball of fire to work with.

Gentle hands stopped mine, and I looked to see my father sitting next to me. I calmed down as his chakra presence washed over me and drifted fairly quickly back to sleep.

When I gained consciousness again, I was a little more aware of my surroundings. I opened my eyes, looked at my father, then asked, "Are Shikadai and Sensei alright?"

"Yes, though from what Shikadai says, you're the one we should be worried about," father informed me.

"He used up his chakra first," I offered, "I just used up mine a little faster after he was done dealing with most of the bandits."

Father said, "You did well. They're counting the mission as an A-rank."

"Am I allowed to get up?" I asked.

"Not yet," father replied, "The doctors want to check you over one last time, especially since they don't like that you're still generating two different types of chakra."

I complained, "It's not like I can help it. How long have I been unconscious?"

"Just a little over two days," father informed me.

"Good thing I'm not taking the chuunin exams," I remarked, "Two days without training or eating would have made it that much harder to get ready."

Father asked, "Who suggested you take the exam?"

"Sensei didn't want us to, but then this guy from the council, Danzo, made sure we have the choice. I figure Sensei knows better than us whether or not we're ready, since he's taken them before. I can wait a year," I told him. Then I yawned, apparently not yet fully recovered.

Doctors and nurses checked me over yet again, then reluctantly let my father take me home, although they insisted I _rest_ and eat light foods. Those weren't hard orders to follow.

Sasuke

My father says the word like a curse, " _Danzo_."

"We have no proof," Itachi reminded him, "To anyone else, it would seem to be a coincidence. Besides, it could have just as easily been one of the Branch Family Heads or an Elder or one of Kakashi's enemies or an enemy of the Nara clan. We don't have enough information to make accusations."

"We have enough to investigate though. I'll talk to Naruto about the possibility of this being an attack on Okami," I offered.

Father told us, his voice dark, "Whoever was behind this is going to pay."


	6. Sand

Okami

Our next few missions went along without incident, even though some of them were outside of the village. Then we received a mission to the village hidden in the sand.

Traveling there wasn't difficult. It took us a few days, and my new camping gear proved to be effective. I had the strange sense that someone or something was watching us, but sensei didn't say anything about it, which meant either they were friendly or he was waiting for them to act.

The sense of being followed faded as we left the forest, and I felt my chakra levels suddenly drop as we moved into the desert. I stumbled, but sensei was fast enough to catch me before I could fall.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I told him, "My chakra levels fell. I don't know why. It feels strange."

Sensei helped me get my feet under myself again, then lifted his headband so he could look at me with his sharingan.

"The green chakra in you has faded quite a bit," he informed me, "Whatever gave it to you, you're outside of its influence, so it can't keep you full all the time. I doubt this chakra will refill naturally. You might never be able to regain it outside of the forest."

I nodded a little to show I understood, and we ran to within a day's travel of the village hidden in the sand, where we made camp only a little way off the road, not expecting any attacks, but still having a schedule to keep watch.

My watch was around midnight, and I was shocked to see a pack of wolves approaching the camp. I attempted a genjutsu to keep them away from the camp, but they ignored it and walked right up to me.

The largest wolf in the pack looked up at me and said, "We are sorry for the delay, pup." My chakra levels immediately rose again, but it felt _different_ , as if desert wolves had different chakra than the forest ones.

"It's not an issue," I assured the alpha, bowing low as a sign of respect.

The alpha leaped at me, pinning me under his weight, and I wondered why sensei hadn't woken up yet.

" _You are not under me, little pup_ ," the alpha growled, " _and you should not show your belly or attempt to preserve my honor. Honor your alpha, not me._ "

I replied, "I am sorry, I do not fully understand the ways of our people." Our felt better than your in this situation for some reason.

"You will learn quickly when you are with your alpha's pack," the wolf offered, removing himself from me.

"The chakra you gave me feels different," I remarked, "Will it be like this every time I meet a new pack?"

The wolf explained, "Wolves live in many lands, and those lands cause us to develop different traits. My pack hunts in the desert, while yours hunts in the forest. There are packs that hunt in the mountains and many other places I know nothing of. It is the land that gives us different _chakra_ ," he didn't seem to like that word, and I suspected they had a different word for the power, "That is why you sense the difference in the power. While you are here, your _chakra_ will be like ours. Once you return to the forest, your pack will return you to their power. If you enter the mountains or one of the other lands, you will be gifted a different type."

"Thank you for your lesson," I told the alpha.

"Your power lets you protect your pack," the alpha replied, "I would not deny you of it." The wolf pack left then, going off to hunt down its prey or back to its den to sleep. I didn't know if they were nocturnal or not.

Shikadai came out of his tent cautiously and remarked, "You'll have to wait for a pack to track you down every time we change environments."

"And there won't be packs in the marshlands. I'll be at my weakest there," I remarked.

"You should tell Sensei about the wolf boss and about what the packs told you," Shikadai said, "The Hatake clan had the contract with the wolf boss for many generations. It was shortly before they joined the village that it was given to another."

I agreed, "I will. I just wonder what the different chakra will mean. Konoha nin often have an affinity for plant based jutsu, although the Uchiha is focused more in fire. The fire must have stayed, but I imagine the plant affinity would have shifted to a sand affinity. Sensei knows jutsu from more lands than anyone, since his sharingan lets him copy the moves of others. He might be my best bet for learning how to use these different types of chakra."

"You'll have to travel from land to land if you truly want to learn them all," Shikadai pointed out.

"But there's no time for that now," I complained, "When I'm a jonin, I might be able to learn to use more chakra types, but for now I need to focus on the ones I'll have the most."

Shikadai asked, "Why didn't sensei wake up?"

"You're part of my pack," I pointed out quietly, "Sensei has a pack of his own."

Shikadai took over the rest of my watch, so I could sleep and let my body become accustomed to the new chakra.

In the morning, sensei examined me with his sharingan again.

"What happened?" he inquired.

I explained what had happened with the wolf boss originally and what had happened with the pack the night before.

He remarked, "You probably won't be able to use several of the jutsu you learned in training. Focus on taijutsu and genjutsu on this mission."

"Yes, sensei," I agreed.

"If we have any down time, I'll show you the few sand jutsu I know," sensei offered, "If you have to use a ninjutsu, try to make sure it's one of your clan's."

I nodded, and we continued towards the village hidden in the sand.

It was very different from Konoha, which was to be expected. As the wolves had said, landscape affected how you lived.

We were met at the gate by a team of ninja fairly close to us in age.

"Cousin Nara," one of them greeted coldly. He had a puppet strapped to his back, and he looked angry. I had forgotten that Shikadai's mother was a sand nin originally.

Kakashi-sensei and the other sensei talked for a couple of minutes, while Shikadai lazily ignored his cousin, and I hovered between sensei and Shikadai, not really sure what to do with myself. We were here to give a scroll to the Kazekage and then take another scroll that he would give us home to the Hokage. Neither of the scrolls were overly sensitive, but I doubted we would have gotten the mission if our sensei was anything less than an S ranked ninja.

Finally, we were led into the village towards the Kazekage's tower.

The village was large, and I liked the logic of its layout. A few people looked at us kind of funny, especially when they saw the Uchiha fan on the back of my shirt. I ignored them, not really caring what this village's opinion of my clan was.

We arrived at the tower, but were still escorted to the Kazekage's office, although we were kept waiting outside of it for a solid twenty minutes. Just as Shikadai was about to doze off, a couple of ninja barged out of the office.

One of them glared at me hard, but I met their gaze, remembering what the alpha wolf had told me. These men weren't pack, nor were they ranked high enough for me to offer them respect. The man demanded, "What are you looking at?"

A sign from Kakashi-sensei made me keep my mouth shut.

"You Uchiha are all the same," the man remarked, "No respect for those above you."

I felt the fire inside of me start to rise, and again the wolf chakra only made it burn hotter. It took everything I had to restrain myself from lashing out.

"I'd be careful how you talk to that one. Can't you see his face? He's probably heir to the Uchiha clan. Besides, Hatake Kakashi won't let you hurt the kid, even if he'll let you insult his clan," the other sensei warned.

The man seemed to only notice Kakashi-sensei then. He blanched then quickly left the room.

I breathed deeply, and with the man gone the anger slowly faded.

We were allowed to enter the Kazekage's office then, and Kakashi-sensei turned over the scroll to the man in robes very similar to the Hokage's robes, although the robes were a different color. The Kazekage reviewed the scroll, but then he looked at the three of us, his eyes lingering on me the longest.

The Kazekage inquired, "Hatake, why does your student have sand affinity?"

"We don't know who the mother is," Kakashi-sensei offered with a shrug, and I focused on my shoes so I didn't feel like attempting to beat a ninja that could clearly defeat me. It was the best answer that could be given without revealing everything about the wolf boss, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

"Uchiha don't have split affinity," the Kazekage stated, "How does he have sand affinity?"

Kakshi-sensei stated, his voice taking on an edge as he pointedly looked around the room, "We don't know who the mother is." It was obvious to me that he was pointing out the fact that this wasn't a secret he would reveal with others nearby, or likely in Sunagakure at all.

The Kazekage let the subject drop.

"Return in three days, and I'll have the scroll for your return trip," the Kazekage offered.

Kakashi-sensei dipped his head, and Shikadai and I followed his example. Three days to learn to use sand chakra and then lose it to the forest of my home again.

We left the Kazekage's office then, but the Kazekage's assistant stopped us before we could leave the building. She offered, "Kankuro-san requested that you join his team on training ground 32. I'm sure a shinobi of your talents can find it, Hatake-san, but if you'd like, I can give you directions."

"That would be nice," Kakashi-sensei agreed.

She spouted out directions with landmarks and things, but I was more worried at the intense gaze I suddenly felt on me. Maybe I wouldn't have three days to learn how to use sand chakra. If this was supposed to stay secret, I would only have the trip back to try to learn as much as I could from sensei. After all, if there were spies, inevitably some would be from Konoha. There were some people there that couldn't be allowed to know about this.

Kakashi-sensei led the way through the town, reading his book but somehow following the secretary's directions perfectly anyway.

The training ground was surprisingly far out of town, and even Shikadai and I could sense the wards around the place to protect it from eaves droppers and intruders. We were allowed through them specifically, although the wolf chakra tingled a little like the wards weren't sure what to do with it.

Kankuro-san, apparently the name of the other sensei, didn't have his students with him anymore. He asked, "What's with the Uchiha? Our guards protected you the minute you crossed the border, but they all passed out the second night, and when they woke up he had sand affinity instead of plant affinity."

"Has this information been leaked at any point?" Kakashi-sensei demanded.

"No, we've been careful. It would have been weird if Gaara didn't say anything to you about it," Kankuro-san informed him, "Why are you so worried?"

Kakashi-sensei informed him, "The Uchiha have many enemies. Okami has even more because of his heritage."

"Is it really from his mother?" Kankuro-san inquired.

"No," Kakashi-sensei replied, "but that will be the public story. It's the best we can do on short notice."

Kankuro-san offered, "You have three days here. That's as long as Gaara can give you, but this training ground will be safe from prying eyes. If you want to teach him, this is the best chance you'll have. There's a room for you at a hotel in town. I figured it'd be safer for you there than in the guest house attached to the Kazekage tower. There will be fewer prying eyes."

Kakashi-sensei nodded, and Kankuro-san disappeared.

Three days.

A Couple Weeks Later

The wolves found me faster inside of the forests. It was our first night camping, during my watch again.

"Welcome home, pup," the Alpha offered as I dipped my head slightly in respect.

I told him, "There are still two days left before I reach my den."

"Run safely," the Alpha said, and I felt the chakra transfer, although this one felt more natural than the last had, "If you wait here before you leave our lands, we can make it easier for you to receive the new."

"I'll need yours to protect me until I find the next pack," I informed him.

The Alpha replied, "Then make sure your fangs and claws are sharp when you leave, pup. I know you have experienced it twice, but our power does not like to leave our lands."

"Thank you," I said honestly.

The pack ran off again, and I waited patiently for the end of my watch, even as I felt the eyes return to staring at me.

Sensei materialized suddenly and ordered, "Go to sleep, Okami. I'll keep an eye on things from here."

I went over to my tent, even as I felt Sensei's chakra wash over the clearing we were camping in. He would keep us safe until morning. That, at the very least, was a guarantee.

Kakashi

I summoned Pakkun after making it clear that none of those watching us would want to attempt to grab either of my students. Writing a quick note, I sent him on his way to find Sasuke or Itachi. Either of them would be able to strengthen the wards around Itachi's house. He would need more protection once people realized he was different. Gaara had been right. Uchiha never had split affinities. It was one of the draw backs of the clan, and one of the reasons why I was the only one known as a Copy nin. My split affinity made it easier for me to learn jutsu other than those I had an affinity for. Most Uchiha were stuck to one path.

 **This Kakashi bit is to show why Kakashi is the only one known as the Copy Nin. Seriously, this is a village that was full of people with the ability to copy other people's moves, yet only Kakashi, who wasn't born with this power, is the Copy Nin. I figured that deserved an explanation.**


	7. Report

Okami

The minute we reached the gates of Konoha, a group of ANBU appeared.

Kakashi-sensei asked, "What do you want?"

"The Council has requested to see Uchiha Okami immediately," one of the ANBU replied.

"The Council?" Kakashi-sensei inquired, "I was under the impression that the ANBU served only the Hokage."

A second team of ANBU appeared, and they seemed confused by the presence of the first. Both sets stared each other down, and I could see their hands flashing in a language I couldn't understand. Kakashi-sensei flashed his own signs occasionally, proving what many in the village thought was true, that sensei had been ANBU.

Finally, the first team of ANBU disappeared.

Kakashi-sensei offered verbally, "You could have gotten here a little faster, Cat."

"The Hokage had to be informed of the situation," the ANBU in a cat mask replied, "We should hurry."

The ANBU disappeared, but I knew they guarded us as we moved through the village towards the Hokage's tower. We went into the Hokage's office instead of the Council Room, which I suspected was what the ANBU had been arguing about.

I bowed to the Hokage, as a proper ninja would.

The Hokage was rubbing his temples, even as he complained, "This is only getting harder. Squad Four, make sure there's no one listening in. If there are any other ANBU in here, leave now under direct orders from the Hokage."

Watching eyes were quickly vanishing. I knew it was safe when sensei put a jutsu to block people from listening on the room.

The Hokage asked me, "Uchiha Okami, how do you change affinity?"

Reluctantly, I relayed the entire story to him.

"Alright," the Hokage said, "Unfortunately, Danzo really wants to research how you can change affinity. He's got a couple of backers that agree that it's possible you're a danger to the village. To my knowledge, no one else has ever had this ability."

"The person that holds the contract with the wolf boss has always had that ability," Kakashi-sensei corrected.

The Hokage asked, "Why isn't that in the village records?"

"The Hatake clan hasn't been in the village for long, and by the time we came here, the contract had gone to a clan-less ninja," Kakashi-sensei offered with a shrug, "It's why so many in my family line have split affinities. Anyway, in Sunagakure, I said that Okami probably got it from his mother, declare it a secret and let that part leak out."

The Hokage nodded quickly, and then he looked at me again.

"Okami, how many people know about the wolf boss?" he inquired.

I told him, "Excluding those in this room, two to my knowledge."

Silence hung in the room for a moment.

"Alright," the Hokage agreed slowly, "Who?"

"My father and my uncle Sasuke," I told him.

The Hokage breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently, there was nothing else of importance to be discussed, so I was released.

Sasuke

Naruto asked, "Are you certain he's a genius?"

"What do you mean?" I inquired, even as I took a sip of tea.

"I kind of had to spell out a couple of questions to him," Naruto explained, "Plus, Uchiha or not, he wasn't very afraid of the ANBU fighting over him apparently."

I said after a moment, "The second part would probably be faith in Kakashi. If I had to guess, I'd say he was being careful to only answer the question you asked him, as he often has to with the leaders in the clan."

"Why would he have to be careful? He's heir to the clan, even if that is after Itachi," Naruto pointed out.

"He's a bastard though," I reminded him, "and that means until he's officially recognized as heir, he's to be treated as just another child of the clan, although he's treated much more harshly than that most of the time."

Naruto complained, "That's dumb. He'll lead them one day, so it's stupid for any of them to make him an enemy."

"Okami doesn't want to be clan head, even if that is what my father wants. That's why he initially pretended to be worse than he was in the Academy and why his new goal is to become a jonin before he activates his sharingan. I'm mostly against that because it would mean he would be exiled from the clan," I told him.

"If he deserves jonin by then and Danzo pushes it, I'll have no choice," Naruto informed me, "but if Danzo tries to get him into ANBU, I'll block it with every resource I have."

I said, "That might not be enough now. Danzo will go out of his way to get Okami under his control. We'll have to be extremely careful."


	8. Honor

Several Months Later

Okami

I had a strange sense that someone was watching me, but I couldn't quite pinpoint where it was coming from. I ignored it as best I could, since I was already running a little late that morning. We didn't have a mission, but I didn't like being late for training.

Shikadai was already there when I arrived. He asked, "What kept you?"

"Sorry, my Uncle stayed at my house last night, and dad made breakfast for everyone. I didn't want to be rude and rush out," I explained.

"What's your uncle like?" Shikadai inquired, "Dad tells stories sometimes about your uncle and his old team, since he was on the original Team Kakashi, but those are mostly about the Hokage and sensei."

I told him, "He's… I don't know. He's a good shinobi, and he teaches me stuff every once and a while. He's really busy most of the time though, so I normally only see him on special occasions. I'm pretty sure the only reason he was at my house last night was because he got injured and didn't want to go to the hospital. I don't really know though, since I slept through his arrival."

"He probably learned to avoid the hospital from sensei," Shikadai pointed out, and we both grinned at that.

"Alright, brats, you can stop laughing at me," Kakashi-sensei told us, appearing suddenly, "I decided that we're going to do some D-ranked missions today."

Shikadai and I both groaned.

Kakashi-sensei grinned cruelly.

He kept us busy all day with tons of D-ranked missions. We did everything from catching a cat (which sensei claimed was demonic, but I recognized as one of the animals that infrequently intruded on my training) to giving out flyers for an event that was coming up in the village. Finally, feeling tired, I headed for home. The moment I stepped onto the compound grounds, I was stopped by a pair of masked, uniformed Uchiha.

I bowed deeply and inquired, "Is there something I can do for you, Minder-san?" The Minders were there to make sure that we followed clan law. They usually focused on the Uchiha in the police to make sure they weren't corrupted, which was why I was mildly confused that they'd appeared in front of me.

"Uchiha Okami, you have broken clan law," one of the Minders informed me, "You failed to show difference to a clan heir as well as your jonin-sensei." They grabbed my arms and took me straight to the Minder HQ.

I was unceremoniously thrown into a small room. There was a medic nin there, as well as another masked Minder, this one holding a whip.

The Minder informed me, "Do you know what the punishment for your crimes is, Uchiha Okami-san?"

"Yes, the normal punishment for failing to show difference to a clan heir is ten lashes, and failing to show difference to a jonin-sensei is fifteen lashes," I recited. Unlike most Uchiha children, who were allowed to ignore clan code until they got older, I'd read the code again and again to find a way to get out of being heir without bringing disrespect to my father. Mikoto-sama had also helped me to learn the clan code.

"You will receive twenty-five lashes for your crimes," the Minder told me, "You will not be allowed to get the lashes healed beyond the amount necessary for you to continue training with minimal impediment."

I agreed, "I understand."

"Remove your shirt," the Minder commanded, and I followed orders quickly, folding my shirt neatly and setting it in the corner before walking back over to the Minder. He grabbed my arms and attached them to the whipping post with a pair of leather cuffs. Then he shoved another piece of leather into my mouth, so that I couldn't dishonor myself further by crying out or accidentally biting off my tongue.

Every lash felt like it was setting my back on fire, but I made it my goal not to react in the least. Spots started dancing before my eyes at about fifteen, and the medic-nin stepped in to keep me conscious. The punishment wouldn't count if I passed out. The healing touch combined with the pain of the whip made everything worse, and I wondered if the medic-nin was secretly increasing the amount of pain I would feel.

The medic-nin said nothing as he made my wounds scab over just enough that I wouldn't bleed through the bandages he wrapped around my chest. Only when he was done were my wrists released, and I fought back tears as I pulled my shirt on.

It was difficult to walk home, since bowing to people was the worst of tortures with the fire my back had turned into. I managed to make it home without passing out from the pain somehow, but it was pretty close a couple of times. As soon as I made it into the house, I locked the door and lay down on the couch on my stomach with my head turned to the side, certain that I wouldn't make it up the stairs if I tried.

My father woke me up gently when he got home.

He asked, "What happened, Okami?"

"I was careless," I informed him, "A couple of Minders followed me to training, and I didn't bow to Shikadai or Kakashi-sensei, the way I'm supposed to. I'm lucky they didn't remember that Kakashi-sensei is technically a clan head, even if the Hatake Clan now only has one member." That would have doubled the amount of lashes I got for not showing him respect.

"Have you eaten?" father inquired.

I told him, "I went to sleep as soon as I got home. Bowing to people on my way back hurt a lot, and I just wanted to rest."

"I'll make you some food," father offered, "and I'll tell Kakashi that you'll need a couple of days off of training."

"I'm supposed to go about life as usual. If I take a few days off, they could add more lashes to my punishment," I informed my father. I wasn't surprised that he couldn't remember that part of the clan law. As a clan heir, the only person he had to show respect to was his father, and the Minders wouldn't have gone after him either way, since no one wanted to disrespect the clan heir. I wasn't clan heir though. I was the unwanted bastard that would only be heir if he got the sharingan too soon.

Father told me, "I'll let you know when dinner is ready. Just rest."

"Okay," I agreed.

The Next Morning

Shikadai

Okami was early the next day, and he bowed carefully as soon as I arrived. It seemed stiffer than normal and out of place. He hadn't bowed to me since the first week of training together, and I wondered why he'd started again.

He remained standing, while I sat down and leaned against a tree to wait for sensei. Most of the time, Okami would suggest we spar until Kakashi-sensei arrived, but apparently, he wasn't in the mood or something.

Kakashi-sensei appeared only ten minutes late, which was rather early, and he told us, "Today, we're going to be training in taijutsu." If I didn't know better, I would've sworn that Okami flinched.

"Rock Lee and Maito Gai are going to help us out, since they're taijutsu masters," Kakashi-sensei informed us, "They should be here any minute."

Two green monstrosities ran onto the training ground, and if I wasn't so lazy, I probably would have gaped at them. Okami didn't seem surprised by them, and he bowed to Rock Lee the way he would to a clan head.

"Greetings!" the pair of taijutsu masters declared simultaneously. They then began to say something about youth, but I was more focused on the white part of the Uchiha emblem on Okami's back. I stood up, did my best to touch it gently and was surprised to find the suspicious red liquid slowly seeping into the cloth was blood.

I demanded, my voice soft, yet somehow still interrupting the tirade about youth, "Why did you tell me you were hurt?"

All three adults seemed shocked, but Okami was quickly backing away from them.

"It's my own fault," he informed us, and I noticed then he was being exceptionally careful not to look anyone in the eyes, while still looking towards their faces, "I got careless."

"Why did you see a medic-nin?" Kakashi-sensei inquired.

Okami explained, his voice soft like he didn't want us to hear, "It's not something I'm allowed to go to a medic-nin for."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, "Why can't you see a medic? You're bleeding."

There's pain in his eyes, more than he'd normally show for any injury. It all gets hidden behind a mask of honor and being a proper Uchiha and… he hadn't bowed to me in months…

One of the taijutsu masters starts lecturing about youth, but I was frozen in place. Okami could tell the moment I'd figured it out, and the pain in his face more than tripled.

"I'm sorry. I should have been more careful," he muttered, apparently also ignoring the lecture. Fists formed, and I understood why Okami sometimes had a hard time ignoring how angry he was. I had a feeling sensei had figured it all out too by how silent he'd gotten. The taijutsu masters trailed off too.

Okami looked towards the trees, and I was suddenly aware of eyes watching us, but then a massive wave of killing intent washed over the clearing, and the eyes vanished, while I was left just trying to keep my feet under me. Okami seemed to be having the same issue.

Kakashi-sensei stated, "Perhaps we should just do some team building exercises today. We can work with Gai and Lee another time!" He smiled with his eye, but it felt even faker than normal, although the killing intent was slowly fading. There was a reason why our sensei was legendary, and it seemed whoever had been watching us didn't want to witness that for themselves.


	9. Team

A Few Days Later

Okami

"Okami," Tsuki said with a smile.

"Hello, Hyuuga-san," I greeted, dipping my head slightly, being as polite as possible because of the clan minder I could sense watching me, since Kakashi-sensei had taught Shikadai and I how to figure out which clan the different chakras were from at least, "What brings you here on this fine morning?"

I could tell she was confused, and she didn't yet trust my lead. She demanded, "What's with the formality, Okami? Don't tell me you've only gotten worse since the Academy!"

The Uchiha minders left quickly when Kakashi-sensei's chakra started to fill the training ground at a low level.

"No, I haven't," I informed her, "There were minders from my clan hanging around. They're gone now, Tsuki."

"Surely they of all people would like if you were familiar with me?" Tsuki countered.

I retorted, "I was punished for being familiar with Shikadai and Sensei. The Elders are trying to push me to rebel the closer I get to being a chuunin. As much as I'd like to, I won't give them the satisfaction."

"I'd hate to be the reason you're in pain," Tsuki informed me, "Still, why would they punish you, you're the heir."

"The bastard heir that no one wants except Fugaku-sama," I offered.

Tsuki frowned.

Shikadai arrived and saved me from her tirade in one move.

He asked, "What are you doing here, Tsuki?"

"I was told to report here to meet my jonin-sensei," Tsuki informed us, "I guess I'll be on the same team as you two." The smile on her face showed just how happy she was about it too.

I sensed the pack before I saw them, and I ran to see what the problem was. One of them had a pup by its scruff, and it was that wolf that stepped forward. They wouldn't talk unless it was just me and my pack aware of their presence, and I wasn't sure yet if Tsuki was pack. Sensei had his own pack, so he certainly wasn't.

Gently, I took the pup from the wolf and carefully examined its damaged paws, ignoring for the time being the arrival of sensei. This had happened several times since the mission to sand country, though the wolves were careful to make sure that I was fully relaxed before they would appear.

I pulled out the medkit I'd gotten for my seventh birthday from Uncle Sasuke. It was easy enough to gently wrap the damaged paws in gauze, and then I sewed shut the cut in the pup's fur I hadn't noticed before. It looked too clean and straight to be from an animal.

Carefully, I touched heads with the Alpha of the pack and asked, "What happened?"

He sent an image to my mind that was difficult to make sense of, but it centered around a human with a kunai attacking the pup, and the pup barely escaping with his life. The fact that wolves saw in black and white, while their noses filled in the important information, made understanding it that much harder.

"Keep him from scratching the cut, and only remove the bandages after a couple of days," I ordered quietly.

The alpha made an understanding sound in his throat, and then the pack left again.

I stood, slightly surprised to find my only slightly depleted chakra fully recharged.

Tsuki demanded, "What the heck was that? I thought they were going to tear your throat out."

"If you thought that, I'm sure they'd be dead by now," I countered, "Besides, wolves don't hurt me." I left it at that, still not certain if she was pack or not.

"Now that Okami's business is out of the way, we're going to do a team building exercise," Kakashi-sensei announced.

I looked at him suspiciously. Team building exercises were usually what sensei called the worst bits of training to get me and Shikadai to follow along with something outlandish, foolish, or unusual. Some of them were alright, like the time we'd gone to a hot spring to soak away the aches of a long mission. Most of them were more like the one where he made us learn poker, which had been annoying, difficult, and had landed sensei with a pile of the candy we were using to gamble, while Shikadai and I had nothing left. Not that I liked candy, but losing was annoying.

Kakashi-sensei held up a pair of bells and told us, "Think of these bells as a lunch ticket. If you can get one, you get lunch. If you can't, no lunch for you."

I wouldn't mind skipping a meal, but it would be annoying with the training we would no doubt do.

Unfortunately, sensei promptly disappeared.

"If we work together, we can split the lunches," Shikadai reasoned.

"Yeah," Tsuki agreed, "That could work."

I pointed out, "He's still a jonin, and we're genin, so we're going to need to get close to forcing him to either give up the bells or hurt us without hurting him."

"I didn't think of that. Sensei is always careful to make sure we don't get hurt," Shikadai agreed.

We all thought for a moment.

"I think I know what to do," Shikadai said, bending down a little to put lines in the dirt, "Here's the plan."

Kakashi

They took a little while to chase after me, which meant they probably had a plan. Shikadai and Okami (when he wasn't angry) were good at making plans, but it would be my pleasure to break through it once I realized what it was. Still, it was good they had pulled the Hyuuga into it, whatever it happened to be.

The Hyuuga ran straight at me, kunai in hand to cut the bells off of my belt. She disappeared before she got anywhere close, and I dodged forward as I realized Shikadai was attempting to grab my shadow. Okami dashed out from the side and expertly replaced himself with a log before I could knock him back. They were being clever, getting as close as possible and then dodging back away again, doing their best to keep me guessing about their intentions. It was definitely more difficult then Team 7's attempt.

The Hyuuga appeared again, much closer this time, and it was difficult to restrain myself from outright damaging the small girl, but I managed well enough. I realized I should really think of her by her name. Tsuki. Obviously Neji felt guilty about his cousin's death. ( _Tsuki means moon, while Hinata means something about the sun, so it would be obvious to anyone that understood that that Tsuki was named for Hinata_.)

Shikadai was in front of me this time, but it wasn't a shadow grab he was trying. His hands finished the last sign, and he switched places with Okami, who had just finished the sign for fire breathing.

I dodged sideways, realizing that Shikadai was behind me.

Tsuki ran forward from that side, and I could sense all three of them were starting to tire slightly, though they still didn't start moving with desperation. I decided then that if they got the bells, they'd get the afternoon off.

Okami moved fast, grinning a little as he dashed to intercept me, the three of them working hard to corral me, making sure I never quite had enough time to make hand signs. They were playing with the fact that they knew I wouldn't hurt them seriously, which was a very smart move, and one that I doubted they'd use against any other jonin in the village besides their parents.

Tsuki was the one to finally grab the bells, and I felt a small flare of pride.


	10. Grandmother

Okami

We got the afternoon off after lunch, though I suspected we wouldn't have if we hadn't gotten the bells. I knew I needed to go back to the compound immediately, so I hurried off, aware of the minders that appeared the instant I was out of Kakashi-sensei's influence.

Instead of going home though, I did something I normally didn't dare to do, since I had the time. I walked farther into the Uchiha compound towards the place where the most influential members of the clan lived. I was very careful to show each and every one of them the respect they deserved as I advanced forward. None of them could get after me if I was a perfect child.

Finally, my pace slowed by being a proper Uchiha, I arrived at the entrance to the main family's household.

One of the guards asked, "Who are you here to see, Okami-san?"

"Mikoto-sama," I told him with a bow.

A runner went in, and I waited patiently at attention for them to return.

"Okami-san," the other guard remarked, "You should not bow to us."

I replied, "I am but a mere genin of the Uchiha clan. It is important that I show my betters respect, as I never know who is watching." I glanced towards my minders.

The runner came back, and I was allowed to enter the home my father had grown up in. It was easy to switch to the slippers and formal clothes that were required within the home, and I moved through to the sitting room I usually met Mikoto-sama in, careful to maintain my posture as I could sense a bug summon following me.

It could not, however, get through the jutsu Mikoto-sama had around the sitting room, and I was happy to relax a little as I sat down in a chair across from her.

"It is good to see you, Okami-kun," Mikoto-sama greeted with a soft smile, "What brings you to my door today?"

"I'm sorry, Mikoto-sama, but I came for selfish reasons. I knew I could not be watched by anyone if I came to you for a little while," I admitted.

Mikoto-sama inquired, "Watched?"

"There are minders from our clan making sure that I am respectful to all around me," I explained, "They fear sensei, father, and Uncle Sasuke, but little else will make them disappear. I knew you would though. No one in their right mind would disrespect you, Mikoto-sama."

"Perhaps they all need a reminder of just who you will one day be," Mikoto-sama remarked, her voice taking on a sharp edge that I was glad wasn't directed at me.

I told her, "I would be grateful, Mikoto-sama, but I fear it would do little to help. The minders have been a constant since it was revealed to everyone how strange my chakra is. I fear not bowing before I entered here will be my undoing today, although that remains to be seen."

"Do they harm you?" Mikoto-sama inquired.

"They follow clan code to the letter," I informed her, "Otherwise, father would have put a stop to it by now." That meant that there were physical punishments, but there was little anyone could do to stop them. This was clan code, and it was important that it be upheld.

Mikoto-sama's hands curled into fists, and she asked, "What is the worst?"

"They noticed I did not show difference to another clan's heir and my sensei the other day. I was careless, and too used to their company. It was my own fault for becoming forgetful," I informed her, ashamed.

"Then…" Mikoto-sama trailed off, "Show me the lashes."

I stood up and carefully removed my shirt. Father put lotion in them each morning to keep them from cracking but getting them healed was against clan code.

Mikoto-sama gently touched the scabs, and her soothing fingers felt nice. I would miss my grandmother most when I was no longer allowed in the Uchiha compound. My father would find a way to visit, but she would not be capable of such things.

Mikoto-sama asked, "What did your they think when he saw these?"

"I tried not to let him see," I replied, "My sensei almost took me to a medic-nin, but I told him I would get double this amount if I got them healed. They wanted to know why it had happened, and Shikadai seemed exceptionally angry. There was nothing he could do though. It is clan law."

"The Elders do not realize they seal their fate with all they do to you," Mikoto-sama remarked.

I pulled away and put my shirt back on, not daring to correct her.

She asked, "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes please," I agreed, "Although I must warn you, I am allergic to green tea."

"I remember," she promised with a soft smile.

Sasuke

Mother was furious, and that alone was terrifying. She demanded, "Why did none of you tell me he'd received _twenty-five_ lashes?"

"There's nothing we could do," Itachi told her, sounding broken, "They watch him constantly just for those few times he slips up."

"I had to keep Kakashi from killing the men sent to watch him. It's not their fault that they're under orders from the Elders," I added with a sigh.

Mother said, "I will not allow my grandson to be given lashes for forgetting to bow to his best friend and his teacher."

"What can we do?" Itachi asked quietly, "Father has tried everything to get the Elders to leave him alone, but they refuse to relent. Okami is already convinced the clan hates him, and he's trying to make jonin before he gets his sharingan so he can be exiled without any shame to me."

Mother began to deflate, seeing as we did the few options that were left. Finally, she told us, "Then he'll have to learn how to escape from the Minders on his own."


	11. Exam

( _FYI: This story will now update one chapter every Thursday. Thanks for reading/following. I'm just trying to prolong catching up to how much I've written, since my muse is fickle at best._ )

A Few Days Later

Kakashi

"Alright, the next chuunin exams are going to be held fairly soon here in Konoha," Naruto remarked, "Are there any jonin-sensei that feel their teams are ready?"

"I do," I offered lazily, glad to find every eye turning to stare at me.

Kurenai was the first to speak up, "They're seven-year-olds."

"That's the least of their problems," I assured her, Okami's back was barely healed, "They're ready for this though." I'd kept them waiting long enough.

Gai looked at me, his eyes hard for once, but then he nodded and that settled all questions.

Naruto asked, "Anyone else?" A couple other jonin spoke up, but my team hadn't worked with any of them. I'd been feeling anti-social once I found that Okami had a secret that needed to be kept.

A Few Weeks Later

Okami

I let the Minders follow me as I walked towards where the first test of the chuunin exam would be held with the rest of my team. Kakashi-sensei had already wished us good luck, and my back hardly ached at all anymore.

Unfortunately, that meant I had no choice but to bow to the fake guards because they were both Uchiha on a punishment duty.

There were murmurs of the other genin as they saw me bow, the words "clan heir" tossed around a few too many times as I then continued to the next floor to get ready for the test. Someone shoved me from behind, but I kept my feet. Shikadai had grabbed their shadow by the time I spun around with a kunai in hand.

I felt the eyes of the Minders on me, so I had no choice but to show some level of respect to the heir to a branch family, even if I hated every minute of it.

Tsuki demanded, "Why would you do that?"

"He's not worthy of the air he breaths," the boy countered, glaring at me hard.

"You couldn't survive a day in his shoes," Shikadai retorted, "Probably not even an hour."

The boy replied, "Anyone could survive that long. He runs off to Mikoto-sama to cry at her knee, when anyone smart would go to Fugaku-sama."

"Are you insulting Mikoto-sama?" I inquired, my voice light, even as I let the slightest bit of killing intent wash over him, glad Kakashi-sensei had taught us the trick a few weeks before.

"If she cares about a bastard like you, she can't be worth much," the boy retorted, "Anyone that cares about you…"

I cut him off, "You insult not only Mikoto-sama, Kakashi-sensei, Uncle Sasuke, Father, and these two clan heirs that stand beside me, but you insult Fugaku-sama himself? Do you truly care so little for your own ability to gain power in the clan? Does your father not complain as I do about how much Fugaku-sama brags about each of my achievements?"

The boy was starting to show the right amount of fear, even if I was studiously not looking him in the eye.

"Just imagine if he were to hear that you so blatantly insulted Mikoto-sama," I remarked, letting false fear lace my voice. Mikoto-sama was the scarier of the two.

Ibiki

I watched the young Uchiha heir deal with the boy that was technically his better, and I couldn't help but think how good the child would do in T&I. He was using the brat's loyalties and fears against him.

One of the men I had with me walked over casually and revealed, "Hatake-san was only reluctant to recommend his students because of twenty-five lashes the Uchiha heir received for not bowing to the Nara heir or his sensei one day."

I shook my head, wondering silently why the Uchiha wouldn't want such a promising ninja to be their head.

Sasuke

We watched on the monitors as the test began. None of the team that Okami was on had any trouble answering questions or getting the answers from others that they didn't have. It was interesting to watch the genin file out that failed. I remembered taking the test myself and being nervous Naruto would be called out.

The test ended without issue, and Ibiki was replaced quickly by Tenzo.

Okami

"My name is Tenzo, and I will be the proctor of your next exam," the jonin offered, "It will start at dusk tomorrow. Make sure you have enough supplies to last you a week in unfamiliar territory."

"Where do we meet?" One of the students asked.

Tenzo informed him, "At the gate to the village."

Dusk the Next Day

"I assume you are all here," Tenzo remarked, "You will of course be required to turn in all that you have with you, as this will be a test of your ability to survive. A ring of tall trees is about a mile away from this gate. Once you enter, you will not be allowed to leave for a week. Each day, you may do as you please, but each night you will be attacked if you are found. Each of you will have bells strapped to your ankles and wrists. If these bells are removed or tampered with, you fail. At any time you may call out for help, and you will be removed from the exercise… and fail. You have three days. I will not accept any questions."

Reluctantly, I turned over all of my supplies, not attempting to bring anything with me, a plan already formulating in my head.

My Minders caught up with me then, but I ignored them well enough. This test was going to be _fun_.

I saw the Uchiha from the branch family, but he pointedly avoided me.

Shikadai asked, his voice soft, "Do you want to stay together?"

"We're pack," I replied, "Of course we'll stay together."

"Does that include me?" Tsuki inquired, sounding nervous

I nodded quickly.

My teammates grinned.

Later

We were sent into the woods at various points, but it didn't take us long to find each other. Then I led the way through the woods.

The jingling bells were only a minor occasional distraction as we all did our best to stay quiet as we moved. It didn't take me too long to find what I was looking for.

I felt the pack's chakra spread around the clearing to make any prying eyes drift off to sleep. It didn't work on prey, but it did work on fellow predators well enough, and all humans were considered predators.

The Alpha asked, "What brings you to our den, pup?"

"It's a right of passage we're completing," I explained, "We have to hide from the adults of our kind. Would you mind if we took shelter among you for a few days?"

"Our lands are welcome to you, but hunting has not been good," the Alpha warned.

I promised, "We can provide for ourselves and for some of you."

Tsuki

It was still a little scary to see Okami speak to wolves so casually. He was completely at rest among them. It didn't take us very long to get set up in a cave near the wolves, which Okami said, "The wolves don't like it because it's too big to be a den and the rock hurts their paws."

"Is there anything we need to know about being here?" I inquired, glancing around the cave, "Like, are there things we should and shouldn't do?"

"Don't go near the entrance to the dens, where the Alpha is standing, unless I'm around. Wolves are protective of the pups that are too young to protect themselves. Other than that, the pack's chakra will hide our chakra as long as we stay close, and the pack won't protect us if other genin come here. I will protect the pack, but you two don't have to," Okami offered.

Shikadai asked, "What about supplies?"

One of the other wolves came over, and Okami touched his forehead to the wolf's.

"There's a stream nearby that has clean water. Prey are scarce this year, but there are rabbits nearby," Okami said after a moment, "Although their precise location doesn't translate well." Okami pulled away from the wolf, who licked Okami's face once before running back to the pack.

A few other wolves were wandering around near us, but they mostly ignored us.

"Are we sure this cave doesn't belong to anyone?" I inquired.

Okami assured me, "The wolves wouldn't have dens near a larger predator's cave. It's possible that it was abandoned by something bigger, but it wouldn't live here anymore."

Shikadai

Night passed into day without incident. We heard some jingling, but apparently the other genin were choosing to avoid the danger of a pack of wolves. That made sense. This test was difficult enough without adding the environmental factor.

Okami left and came back with a steer's carcass. He donated about half of it to the wolves, while taking the rest of it into our cave so we could cook it and use various jutsu to hide the fire.

"Won't the smell attract other teams?" Tsuki asked.

Okami provided, "If it does, I'll scare them away. I set some traps in the trees to discourage that kind of thing. The wolves will help during the night, since they'll be moving in and out of the area more." He was focused on breaking the meat down into chunks and putting the smaller chunks on a rock to fry them as best he could without any supplies.

"Are there any edible plants in this region of the forest?" I inquired.

"There should be a few," Okami said after a moment, "There might be wild berries or leafy plants, but I'm not going to try to ask the wolves. Their directions make more sense if you rely on scent instead of eye sight."

I disappeared to go look for some rather than just waiting for the meat to cook. I heard more bells as I traveled, but carefully avoided them as I looked for plants that would be safe to eat.

Tsuki

Shikadai and Okami worked well together, and I worried that I wasn't used to working with a team yet. They'd had a year and a half, while I'd only had the last six months to prepare myself for this.

Still, I could trust Kakashi-sensei. If he said we were ready, then I would try hard to prove that he was right.

Okami

It was the second night that things got… interesting.

"HELP!" someone nearby shouted loudly, "HELP! MONSTERS!"

Shikadai asked, "Do we help them?"

"There should be enough jonin that they'll be safe," I replied, "If we're seen, we automatically fail."

"HELP!" they shouted again.

I started to doubt my own resolve though, "Should we try and check it out to see if they really do need help?"

The shout came again, even more desperate than before, " _PLEASE HELP!_ "

"The jonin should take care of it," Shikadai remarked.

"It'll be hard to sleep if they keep shouting," Tsuki argued, "and what if they're in real danger."

Shikadai pointed out, "What if it's a trap?"

 _A whisper in the night._ This was my chance to see if I was ready.

"I'll check and see if it's a trap. If I need help, I'll flare my chakra enough for you to sense it. If it's a trap, I'll try to make it back here," I reasoned.

Tsuki and Shikadai both reluctantly nodded, while I slipped out of the cave. A few of the wolves were bringing back prey to share with the pack, and one of them was leaving so I ran with him for a moment before pulling away towards the shouting.

There were four genin in the clearing. One of them was clearly terrified, while the other three watched on and snickered. There was a jonin there too, but it seemed somehow, while silent, he was also trapped in the genjutsu.

I moved quickly, already having decided that I didn't want to be seen by any of them. It took time for me to make my way around the clearing so I was behind the three performing the genjutsu. After setting up some traps, I continued back around to the other side and moved my hands through the transformation jutsu we'd learned in the academy, picturing in my mind what I needed to be before I hunted down the genin abusing their power.

I stepped out of the woods, looking like the wolf boss.

One of the genin ran straight into my traps, while the other two were frozen in place by my killing intent. Hopefully, that would be enough to free the jonin.

I growled loudly, which made another of the genin run into a trap, while the third remained frozen. He probably couldn't move if he wanted to maintain the genjutsu. I got right down in his face, and he slowly started backing away as he made out the little details that I always found made transformation more terrifying. He ran to the side, not wanting to get stuck in a trap like his friends, but I wasn't going to let him get away. I dropped the transformation and tailed him until he slowed down.

I darted out of the shadows long enough to cut the back of his shirt with a kunai, barely grazing the flesh enough to leave a shallow cut.

The genin demanded, "Who's there?"

I made no reply as I quickly set up a trip wire and net trap in one direction he could go. It was just a matter of making him go that way.

This time, I merely let a flashy fire jutsu push him to run again.

He ran to the side, apparently anticipating a trap, but I had been right. He favored moving towards the left, and that was where my trap laid in wait. He ended up tangled in a tree, and I flashed an even larger fire jutsu into the air to draw the attention of the jonin before I disappeared, heading towards the clearing to make sure the jonin and the genin that had been in the genjutsu were alright. They were both gone by the time I got there, so I continued on back to the cave we were staying in.

"So?" Shikadai asked.

"It was nothing," I replied, "Just some older genin performing a genjutsu on someone, which made him scream. I took care of it."

Shikadai

There were many more jonin searching for the smallest hint of a genin on the third day. We didn't eat or drink anything as the day went on, doing our best not to even move to much in case we accidentally made the bells ring.

Okami kept watch near the cave entrance, while Tsuki and I dozed on and off throughout the day.

Just as dusk fell again, we were suddenly at the gates of Konoha once again.

There were five other genin around us, and Tenzo said, "Congratulations. You have a month." He disappeared with those words, and we were met next by Kakashi-sensei.

"I won't have time to train all of you one on one, so if any of you have other ideas for training, now would be the time to use them," Kakashi-sensei remarked.

"I'll be off then," Okami remarked, "If I wait too long, I'll just get dragged to the Uchiha Compound." He disappeared with those words, and I wondered why the bells weren't affecting his ability to disappear.

I offered, my voice soft, "My father said he'd like to train me if I made it this far."

"I'll take your training, sensei," Tsuki informed him, "I already know how to fight like a Hyuuga. I need to know how to fight against someone that's expecting that."

We went our separate ways.


	12. Away

Okami

I did go home to quickly pack a bag and bid goodbye to my father. I also removed the bells I had worn for the previous three days. Then I went through the gate of Konoha again and headed towards the mountains to the north, following instinct as much as I could as to which mountain I would need. I channeled my chakra through my nose the further away from civilization I got so I could track the smell of the pack the closer I got.

The journey to find the wolf boss took three days in total, and I was lucky to find him the third day what with the storm that was brewing.

"Hello, pup," the wolf boss offered, and I bowed low to him.

He said, "You are an alpha of your own pack, little pup. There is no need to show me so much respect."

"It is an honor to have a pack at all," I replied, "and I have been thankful many times for the gifts you have already given me."

"There is another you still need," the wolf boss remarked, and he turned to lead me further into the cave. Surprisingly, the cave opened into a small forest, hidden within an otherwise inaccessible mountain valley. It seemed no one would get to see how I trained. I was surprised to see a couple of other people here.

I asked, "Who are they?"

"They are those that were shunned for putting their pack before all else and died one way or another because of it," the wolf boss informed me, "They were ninja in life, and in death they protect the wolves that seek refuge at my side."

One of them walked over. He seemed rather young, despite the gray hair he had, and I couldn't help the thought that filled my mind.

"Hello, pup," the man greeted, crouching down to look me in the eye.

The wolf boss said, "White Fang, this is the pup I spoke of to you. I believe he has a little less than a month to prepare for his rite of passage. Make him worthy of my contract." With that, the wolf boss left me with the strangely familiar man.

"I've heard of White Fang," I said after a moment, thinking hard about where I'd heard such a name, "Are you from Konoha?"

"Yes, my son Hatake Kakashi should still be there," White Fang agreed.

I smiled a little and told him, "He is my sensei."

"Then you should not have too far to go," White Fan remarked, "Eat. Your training will wait until the storm has arrived."

Shikadai

I panted as I focused hard on the hand signs, still trying to get them just right.

Tsuki

It was all I could do to keep up with Kakashi-sensei, as he attacked again and again, going for my blind spot more than once.

Two Weeks Later

Tsuki

We took a short break, mostly just to recover our chakra. I was trying hard to fully develop the new techniques that I was being taught, but they all took more chakra than I was used to expending all at once. Still, they'd give me an edge in combat beyond just my eyes.

Shikadai

"Father?" I asked.

He sighed, but slowly got out of bed. He recognized that Okami had been a good influence on me, but that didn't make him any less lazy. It just made _me_ less lazy.

Okami

White Fang was relentless, insisting I train mostly during the obnoxiously bad weather we were having in order to build my stamina. He taught me to channel chakra through my sword, had me channel chakra through my senses until I was doing it in my sleep, and sparred with me using only taijutsu until I collapsed from exhaustion. Then he would simply use the time it took for my muscles to heal enough to continue to teach me hand signs and chakra theory.

At the end of the second week, he had me put my signature on the contract the wolf boss had, and then I had to train with the giant scroll on my back all the time, as it was from then on my responsibility. Only with my permission could a worthy ninja put their signature on the scroll.

I managed to summon mostly pups, but as I learned to draw on my natural chakra and the wolf chakra at the same time, I could summon larger and larger wolves until I one day summoned the wolf boss himself.

"You are almost ready," the wolf boss observed, "but there is a power from your pack that you will need before you can fight."

"That power… it will trap me with a pack that isn't mine," I told the wolf boss reluctantly, not wanting to dismiss his wishes without an explanation.

The wolf boss replied, "You choose your own pack, pup. You are the wolf sage now. If anyone questions you, you cannot doubt that your pack will defend you."

"You are right," I agreed, "I suppose I'll have to try."

Tsuki

Okami seemed… different.

He still bowed when he saw me, and I was aware on some level of the Minders that kept an eye on him.

"Morning," he greeted, and he seemed even more like a shinobi than he had been before, all serious and sharp edges. Maybe it had something to do with the new uniform he was wearing. It reminded me a bit of the ANBU uniforms I occasionally saw around the Hyuuga clan grounds.

I asked, "How did your training go?"

"It was…" Okami started, and it was obvious he was considering his words carefully, "Intensive. I learned a lot about different chakra affinities, and there was plenty of… endurance… training."

"What kind of endurance training?" I inquired.

Okami offered, "The most memorable one was climbing a mountain during that monsoon a week or so ago with one hand tied behind my back and a backpack filled with rocks on my back."

"That," I told him, "is not possible."

"What do you think I said? Unfortunately, my teacher was rather insistent about the exercise, and I climbed that mountain," Okami informed me.

I insisted, "You're pulling my leg."

"Well, I can't prove to you that I've done it," Okami offered, "but I will probably try the feat again while training, so I suppose you can see it next time."

Shikadai wandered slowly over to us.

"Okami claims he climbed a mountain one handed," I told him.

Shikadai seemed surprised. He asked, "Why?"

"My teacher was confident it would be the best way to build endurance and pain tolerance," Okami replied, "I'm pretty sure it was to teach me even better chakra control, but that's just me. I'm not going to call my teacher a liar. He'd… well… it would _not_ be pretty."

We were called to enter the stadium, and Okami didn't hesitate to jump down, while most of the rest of us walked down the stairs.

The proctor for this exam was waiting for us there. She told us, "We're going to use a classic single knock out bracket, so make sure you give it your all in all your fights. I mean it. You get to draw straws to see who fights who, so you don't get to complain if you end up fighting your teammates."

"Alright, Nara and Kumo will be kicking things off," Anko remarked, "Then Hyuuga and Ishigado, Garasu and Taki, and finally Uchiha and Sanda. Nara and Kumo stick around. The rest of you get to watch from up there." She pointed to the viewing box that was lower in the stadium than any other. This was going to be interesting, to say the least.

"I can't believe I have to wait that long," Okami complained, while we went up to the box to watch Nara's fight.

I offered, "At least you'll get to see some examples of how the cloud nin will fight. I know I'm fighting a stone nin first, but I'd be worried about going up against Taki, Kumo, or Sanda."

"Cloud nin aren't that bad," Okami informed me, "Fire beats air. If it's lightning, eh, I'll figure something out."

"What if it's water? Water beats fire," I pointed out.

Okami grinned and told me, "That, my friend, is something I'd rather not reveal if any of them have a water affinity." This seemed more like the old Okami

"The first match is between Nara Shikadai and Kumo Hei," an announcer said, "Please take your seats, as the match is about to begin."

The proctor of the exam said something to the boys, who squared off.

Then the proctor shouted, "Three, two, one, BEGIN!"

Shikadai

Kumo launched forward, but I fought him off, focusing on taijutsu for a moment as I worked out a plan. Obviously, this ninja was skilled at taijutsu, although he couldn't match Okami. I had beaten Okami before, and if I was careful, I could beat this nin.

He was fast, but he didn't seem overly intelligent, and he had yet to even try ninjutsu or genjutsu.

My hands flashed through the signs of one of the most basic ninjutsu I had, and I was suddenly behind Kumo instead of in front of him. He spun around, but I was faster, stepping into his shadow as my hands flashed again. Before his kick could land, he was frozen in place, and I brought him down. He wasn't ready to be a chuunin. Anyone could see that, and I wondered how he'd even made it this far. Perhaps his teammates had carried him?

Tsuki

Shikadai walked slowly past me up the stairs, while I moved quickly down them. His own showing had proved how much he outmatched his opponent, and I could only hope that mine would have a similarly low skill level, although it wasn't looking good.

The proctor counted down, and then I activated my byakugan, which let me better see the chakra points Ichigado had. He was bright, which implied he was a ninjutsu user. I'd seen stone nin fight on a mission we'd had, but that had been different. Those ninja weren't attacking us, since we'd been hired for escort missions that merely had us crossing paths where the enemy decided to attempt to grab both clients.

His hand signs formed rapidly as I closed in, and suddenly he disappeared into the ground. I searched for him, knowing that he couldn't be in my blind spot, since he'd gone into the ground, and my keen eyes detected his chakra signature. I leaped off of the ground when he went to grab my ankles. He continued using the technique, but I could tell it would drain his chakra before my eyes drained all of mine. I could wait him out fairly well without risking myself as long as I continued to dodge. Wasn't that the sort of decision a chuunin should make, rather than trying to show off?

Fortunately, he came out of the ground with about half of his chakra remaining.

I dodged forward, knowing that the best kind of fight I could be in was one with hand to hand combat.

He tried to stay back, but I pursued him relentlessly until I managed to hit one of his chakra points, disabling his left arm. He seemed to be getting more and more tired as the fight wore on, but I was focused on my relentless attack. Finally, with his legs and arms disabled, I stepped back.

It seemed, however, that I had fallen right into his trap.

I jumped up, but I was too late, the rock already surrounding me, and I wondered how he'd managed to make a shadow clone seem so realistic even to my sharp eyes. I was dragged into the ground quickly, but I didn't panic. I released a large amount of chakra, forcing me to release the byakugan, but exploding the ground above me and allowing me to escape relatively unscathed.

Now we were both panting.

The other nin informed me, "You're beaten. Without your eyes, you are nothing."

"I am a Hyuuga," I retorted, launching forward to attack again, "That is _never_ nothing."

My chakra was running low, but I would _not_ allow the rock nin to defeat me. I had friends that were counting on me, and I would not bring _dishonor_ to my clan. That was my nindo.

Somehow, gaining a second wind, I reactivated my byakugan and then attacked again with the gentle fist, knowing that this time I was truly fighting the real Ichigado.

He went down fairly quickly, and I was panting and sweating by the time I was done. It would be… difficult in my next fight. I'd expended a lot of chakra, and I doubted I would be capable of defeating Shikadai. Still, I would try.

Okami

Tsuki had a bit of a hard time making it back into the box we were watching from, and I wondered if she would make chuunin. She had won her fight, yes, but she could not have gone on to take another ninja, the way Shikadai could. I doubted she could take on a genin with how low her chakra felt. Still, I bowed to the clan heir, and she sat with her back against the wall to meditate and rest in preparation for her next fight.

"Okami, who do you think will win?" Shikadai asked, observing the cloud nin and the sand nin that were down below.

I told him, "One of the cloud nin must have gotten his compatriots through the exam, or they wouldn't all be here. Either that sand nin or myself will have a very difficult fight. I personally hope I get to fight the leader, but that's just because I haven't had a fight with someone close to my level since I left to train, and I haven't won a sparring match in all that time either. My teacher went all out on me most of the time, and I'd like to think I've improved from being beaten by him again and again."

"You keep referring to him as your teacher," Shikadai remarked, "Is there a reason why you don't want us to know his name?"

"Yes," I responded casually, adjusting the large scroll attached to my back a little. Mostly, I was just trying to distract the Nara. Fortunately, it seemed to work

Shikadai asked, "Are you a sage now?"

"I don't know," I told him, "Sage makes me sound old, and I'm not even in my teens yet, but I guess there isn't a better word for what I do in life."

"The Hokage is the toad sage, and he's younger than sensei," Shikadai pointed out.

I wrinkled my nose and insisted, "but he's still an adult. He's only a couple months younger than my Uncle Sasuke." I refocused on the fight that was about to begin.

Garasu the sand nin and Taki the cloud nin were both standing opposite each other rapidly forming hand signs. Garasu managed to finish first, and I suddenly understood why he had a huge box strapped to his back because out of the box flew hundreds of shards of glass straight at Taki, who barely managed a quick substitution jutsu before he could be stabbed thousands of times over.

"The sand nin is going to win," I offered, "and I get the fun fight."

Shikadai agreed, "It's unlikely to go the other way."

Tsuki pushed herself to her feet to see for herself, and I realized suddenly that, whether or not I won this exam, with the Minders watching me so intently, I was going to get punished for not helping her to her feet like a proper gentleman.

The sand nin was relentless with his glass attacks, and I thought through how I would beat him. It would be a hard fight, but I suspected I could manage it as long as I was fast. I'd have to stay close to the guy, as if he managed to keep me back, I would be skewered. Still, I had a plan in mind with one of the jutsu that I had managed to perfect while I had been gone.

"You're right," Tsuki agreed, "There's no way he'll lose if that cloud nin can't get in close."

He got close to eviscerating the other nin, but he didn't quite kill her, which was good. Killing other nin was frowned on in the chuunin exams, since capturing another ninja was always better for interrogation purposes.

As soon as Anko called the fight in the sand nin's favor and he gathered all of his glass back into his box, I leaped into the ring, not hesitating for a moment.

The remaining cloud nin, Sanda, walked down the stairs, obviously not wanting to waste chakra. It didn't take that much chakra to keep myself from breaking my legs, and I was honestly excited for this fight.

I caught the smell of ozone clinging to Sanda, and I knew he had a lightning affinity. Lightning and fire could get dangerous, but I could beat him without playing my hand about how I planned to defeat the sand nin.

Anko shouted, "Three, two one, BEGIN!"

I formed hand signs immediately, all while leaping back to avoid the other nin's first attack. Sanda was fast, but I'd trained with someone faster, and I'd kept up with the pack on my two legs during hunts.

In an instant, the grass started grabbing onto Sanda's feet, slowing him down further, and I grinned. I bit my thumb and spread the blood over my right hand, easily forming the familiar hand signs that came almost instinctively, then planted my hand on the ground as I flipped backwards to avoid another attack. I was unsure why Sanda hadn't used his ninjutsu yet, but I was certain that was going to come soon.

The group of wolves I had summoned was _my_ pack, and each of them had a different affinity. Gin was their pack leader, but I was their alpha.

Immediately, the wolves started helping me in the hunt, slashing claws and biting at Sanda, mostly just to hound him while I started a much more complex technique, even as he began to do the same. I suspected we would finish at about the same time, but I trusted that my own technique would trump his.

"He's summoning lightning," Gin warned as I finished the last hand sign.

I pointed out, "Not much we can do about that."

"Your eyes?" Gin suggested, "You have detected lighting with them before."

"Which is why you don't climb mountains during thunder storms, but I can't use those yet," I informed him, dashing forward as my chakra flowed into the kunai I had in hand, one glowing green while the other glowed red. I was doing my best to try to sense the build up of chakra that would tell me where the lightning would strike, but the technique wasn't finished yet, and I had no way of knowing where it would hit until it was finished. Hopefully, the cloud nin would be down for the count before that happened.

I shot forward, chakra making me even faster than I had been before, even as I threw the green kunai to distract Sanda. He dodged it, but he wasn't expecting me to send myself to it just as it passed him, allowing me to slam the red kunai into his open left shoulder. I ripped it out again, and if the kunai hadn't been infused with the flame chakra, the wound would have been gushing blood. As it was, there was only searing pain and a cauterized wound.

Sanda cried out, but got away. I knew the lightning was about to hit somewhere, probably hit me if I had to guess, but just as the scent of ozone grew strongest, Gorudo, another of my pack, dashed over, and tackled me into the ground, similar to the way that Tsuki had been pulled into the ground, except Gorudo didn't have malicious intent.

Gorudo pulled me deep enough that the lightning dissipated before it could hit me, and then he brought me back up behind Sanda.

Akua, the alpha female, was the next to help me, surging forward as a sudden wave to knock Sanda out of his stance, and I went at him with ninja wire, while Akua spun him around, allowing me to tie him up, although I paid special attention to his hands.

I dispelled my pack except for Gin, and Anko declared me the winner, while a couple of medic nin rushed forward to take care of the other guy.

Gin followed me back up to the box the contestants were in and asked, "Do you need to find a local pack?"

"No, I've got those ration pills that should keep me on my feet until the end of the next match," I offered, "If you're that concerned, why did you let me keep you around?"

"I wished to meet your pack," Gin informed me.

The announcer said, "There will be an hour lunch break before the next match begins. It will be between Hyuuga Tsuki and Nara Shikadai."

"You just summoned like five fully grown wolves," Tsuki said, while I was busy bowing to both of my teammates, "and they all had different abilities."

"They come from different parts of the country, but ended up under the wolf boss's care. Well, except for Gin here. He's the wolf boss's pup," I explained.

Gin argued, "I'm bigger than you. You're the pup. Just ask Fang."

"That chakra channeling was cool too," Tsuki added, and she had that weird look in her eyes that she used to get during classes at the academy when she looked at me for a while, "It looked like you channeled each affinity through a separate blade."

"Yeah, that's probably what took me the longest to master, and it takes a ton of hand signs. The nature kunai let's me transport myself to it, while the fire kunai is basically just the sharpest blade imaginable that cauterizes while it cuts. I'm planning on getting twin blades sometime soon so that I can have larger weapons to do it with," I informed her.

Shikadai asked, "What kind of chakra does Gin have?"

"We don't call our energy chakra," Gin replied, "It is simply the power we get from nature. Those wolves with high amounts of it journey to the wolf boss to be protected from those that believe consuming us will give them power."

"Which is also how humanity lost the right to summon wolves for a while," I offered.

Gin concluded, "but my power is focused in the forest, although apparently Okami is incapable of using the chakra the way it was intended."

"That's not my fault," I claimed, "Only the first Hokage was able to control trees, and your way of explaining how to do it makes literally _no_ sense."

Sensei appeared suddenly, and he had a small stack of bentos.

"Did you just get here?" Tsuki asked while I was busy bowing.

Sensei offered without answering, "I brought lunch."

"He's not pack," Gin complained, "Why is he feeding you?"

"He's only not pack because he has his own pack, and he's feeding me because he missed how awesome I was in that last fight," I informed him.

Gin still growled a little when I took the bento from sensei, but my wolf pack would have to get used to be around those that weren't pack.

Kakashi-sensei remarked, "I see I now have the pleasure of teaching the wolf sage."

"You humans have strange names for everything," Gin decided, "Why would you call an alpha a sage?"

"It's because I guard the scroll that lets your dad and the rest of the wolves get summoned," I informed him.

Gin huffed, apparently decided he'd had enough of humanity for one day, and disappeared.

Kakashi-sensei asked us, "So how was training?"

"The most difficult part was getting my father out of bed in the morning," Shikadai offered, "although I did improve a lot."

"You know how my training went," Tsuki said, once she realized I wasn't going to answer until she did.

I stated, "I found the wolf boss, and I trained under someone that was there with him. Training was difficult, but I managed alright."

"I would still say impossible," Tsuki insisted, "Climbing a mountain with one hand is ridiculous enough, but the rocks in the backpack make it that much more insane."

"The rain was more difficult to deal with, since it made everything slippery," I offered. I decided against adding the fact that I'd had to dodge bolts of lightning the closer I got to the top, since then Tsuki would get that weird look in her eyes again.

Kakashi-sensei seemed mildly surprised.

I added, "Although, it seemed to me that my teacher preferred it when I trained in the rain. He claimed it would help me build my endurance and chakra control."

"That's quite the training regimen," Kakashi-sensei remarked, "I'm surprised wolves would come up with something like that."

"It wasn't wolves, but the people there are… hard to explain, and I was sworn to secrecy on my last day there, so I can't exactly tell anyone about them until it's time for me to pass on the contract to someone else," I offered.

Tsuki concluded, "Your training was definitely the hardest."

I just shrugged.

"Alright, if the contestants will please enter the ring, the next match will begin momentarily," the announcer claimed, so Tsuki and Shikadai headed down the stairs.

"So," Kakashi-sensei asked, his voice lilting in a way that told me I wasn't going to like his question, "which one of them are you rooting for?"

I told him, "I hope both of them show enough skill to become chuunin."

Kakashi-sensei shook his head at me, but the Minders were trusting their chakra to be hidden in the crowd, and I knew there was a summon in the room with us. A summon that wasn't mine or Kakashi-sensei's, and I wasn't going to insult either clan heir, no matter what sensei said.

I stood up and turned to watch my teammates fight, while Kakashi-sensei disappeared into the stands. I knew who was going to win. Tsuki didn't have the energy left to put up a decent fight against Shikadai, and it was likely that she'd remain a genin. I didn't want it to happen, but I didn't see another way.

"I concede!" Tsuki declared loudly, and I was shocked, but then… She couldn't beat Shikadai, and she'd shown off her own abilities well in the previous match. This concession would make sure that there was no way she would have to fight me or Garasu. Tactically, it was the best decision she could have made, and I hoped the judges would recognize that.

Garasu walked over and told me, "Those wolves won't do _anything_ against me."

"If you think I'd let my summons get near that glass, you've got another thing coming," I informed him, "I'm not some genin that made it here because my team dragged me through it like the last guy you fought. I'm _ready_ for this." With that, I leaped into the stadium, not hesitating for a moment.

"You sure about this?" Anko asked, "I don't think I've ever seen you do a shield of any kind, and sand beats fire."

I told her, "I've got this."

"Alright, well don't let your dad come after me if you're filled with glass. I gave you a warning," Anko said with a shrug.

Garasu took the stairs to the arena.

"Alright," Anko told us, "Three, two, one, BEGIN!"

Garasu immediately started forming hand signs, even as I did the same. He didn't even notice that mine finished first, and that was how I knew that I was going to win.

Tsuki

I watched the strange fight going on between Okami and Garasu, and I noticed something very strange. Garasu, who had perfect aim in his previous fight, seemed to find it impossible to hit Okami, although he wasn't even reacting to the fact that he kept missing. Okami would get close enough to him to land a couple of punches and kicks every once and a while before Garasu would dodge back.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Shikadai replied, "Okami created a sophisticated genjutsu so that Garasu aims where he isn't whenever he fires his glass, but the fake Okami still attacks Garasu in all the same places." I activated my byakugan, and suddenly I could see it all.

Suddenly, just as Okami launched his final attack, an explosion rocked the top of the stadium.

"That wasn't from the fighters," Shikadai observed, "We need to get down there."

"Won't that be considered interfering?" I asked.

Shikadai told me, "No, they waited for Okami to finish off the other guy." This time, Shikadai hopped into the stadium, and I was beginning to doubt that I was the only one that had a thing for Okami, even if they were both guys.

There was a massive chakra presence, and it was all I could do to stay on my feet. Shikadai was walking forward though, slowly towards where Okami was glaring hard at a man in a snake mask.

"What's going on?" Shikadai asked, "What happened?"

"There's an attack being staged on the Hokage. That's probably where sensei is. This guy appeared just after I knocked out Garasu," Okami explained.

The masked man offered, "If you come with me peacefully, I won't hurt your friends."

Okami bared his teeth in reply, and I had a feeling the man had only made Okami angrier. He reopened the cut on his thumb and rapidly formed a series of hand signs.

"Pup," a gigantic wolf greeted.

"This man wants to hurt my pack," Okami told him, "I'd like your help making sure he can't."

The wolf looked almost as angry as Okami did, and his chakra was even more massive than the man's was. The growls rumbling through the stadium would have been enough to terrify anyone. Anyone, that is, except Okami and Shikadai.

The masked man retreated back a couple of steps, but it wasn't to leave. He was looking for a tactical advantage, a way to get on the wolf's back. There had to be… I knew that I had to do. Without hesitation, I ran to the wall behind the man, knowing that Okami and Shikadai wouldn't let the man turn to attack me, and then slammed a graceful fist into the wall at the weakest point, then jerked it out again. Fortunately, there weren't any stands where the stadium started to crumble, and I leaped up onto the remaining wall to remove myself from a fight I was clearly out matched in.

Okami

I asked, "Shikadai, can I trust you to get on the wolf boss's back without doing anything like Tsuki-san just did." The formal tone was one I took up whenever I was especially annoyed with anyone as a matter of defense.

Shikadai was on the wolf's back in a moment, while I squared off against my assailant. He was ANBU, but not ANBU. There was nothing really human about how he held himself, as if he were some kind of robot.

I couldn't beat an ANBU. I wasn't even jonin level yet in one of my chakra types, and I had two to learn, but I would do _anything_ to protect my pack. Nothing else mattered as long as they were safe.

"My orders are to use whatever means necessary to bring you with me," the ANBU informed me.

"I won't let that happen," I informed him, my voice hard, "I'm not going to let you just drag me away just because you've made some threats. I'll do whatever it takes to stay right where I am."

Honestly, I was stalling by this point, but I had to give them as much time as I could before I started running. No, I couldn't ever take on an ANBU, but my sensei wasn't just some former ANBU that didn't make the cut anymore. He had been the _captain_ and the _commander_ before he retired. Dad had been a captain before I'd arrived, and Uncle Sasuke was still involved in ANBU more than I'd be allowed to find out until he too retired.

Finally, there they were.

Sensei offered, "I must say, Okami-kun, you certainly know how to stall."

"Sensei, please do not call me kun," I requested, settling back from my offensive stance into a defensive one, fully aware that sensei would handle this.

I moved, one chakra fused jump was all it took to be next to Shikadai.

Dad appeared next to sensei and asked, "Any idea who this guy is?"

"No," Kakashi-sensei told him thoughtfully, "but I'd certainly like to find out. He looks familiar around the edges, but the stance is wrong. Anyway, off you go, Okami. We'll have training tomorrow morning."

"Only if you don't pass out," I retorted, and then the wolf boss leaped away. I barely had enough chakra for him to get us to the Nara clan's lands, but we made it, and I was only mildly surprised to see Shikadai's dad there, waiting for us.

I bowed to him, then bowed to the wolf boss and offered a humble, "Thank you."

"It's your pack, pup," the wolf boss insisted, "If you need my help protecting it, I'll always be there."

"You have your own pack though, and I know they need your protection," I insisted.

The wolf boss butted his head against mine, and then with a puff of smoke he was gone.

Shikadai asked, "How much chakra did that take?"

"Too much," I provided, "Congrats, you win the tournament. I can't fight again after doing that one."

"They'll call it off," Shikamaru-sama informed me.

Shikadai provided, "He was making a joke, dad."

Shikamaru-sama led the way into the house I'd visited a few times. He'd complained the way his son had once about my life being exhausting the twenty-eight time he told me not to bow to him. The next time he kept his mouth shut because I was trying not to let the pain show on my face from how it stretched the lash marks.

The safest place in the house was Shikadai's room, but we probably didn't need that level of protection with a former ANBU hanging around and sense and my dad doing everything they could to protect us.

Something was off though. The way Shikadai's posture didn't slouch, even though we weren't in any danger, the way Shikamaru-sama was still standing even though he'd normally fall into his seat immediately.

"Kai," I whispered, forming the hand sign as carefully as I could.

Everything around me faded, and I was in a laboratory.

"It's too bad that big wolf ran off with your friend," a dark, familiar voice remarked, "I've never worked with a Nara before. Perhaps I could have trained the laziness out of him."

I struggled hard.

Danzo informed me, "It's no use. Did you really think I'd let you escape? Did you truly believe that Hatake Kakashi cared enough to save you?"

"You think he doesn't care about anything? That a couple of prodigies were slumped off on him because he'd held the title once too? Do you think a man that didn't care could train Naruto-sama to be such an amazing man? If you think my _sensei_ doesn't care about what happened to me, you've got another thing coming. You do remember that my grandfather does care about me, right? He's probably not the one you should fear though. I mean, you're already got sensei, my dad, and my uncle to worry about, not to mention all the friends they'll drag along to help. Tsuki and Shikadai will probably get their parents to help too, if they can, and I don't even know what Mikoto-sama will do to you when she gets her hands on you," I retorted, struggling all the while.

"None of them will find you," Danzo told me, "No one will ever find you."


	13. Fine

Six Years Later

Shikadai

Tsuki asked, "How's it going?"

"Fine," I replied, picking at the food in front of me, "My new team is… fine."

"Mine is too, although Lee-sensei is a little weird sometimes," Tsuki offered.

I informed her, "Kakashi-sensei seems alright most of the time. He's a little upset that they're putting Okami's name on the memorial stone though, since it's still possible he was just captured. Even if he is a sage, no one is invincible. Still, he tolerates the new team well enough, and I suppose I can't hate Inojin or Chocho. If I'd graduated with them, I probably would have been put on a team with them in the first place, but…"

"It's not the same," Tsuki agreed, "At least, even if he is dead, they're counting him as a chuunin."

"Yeah. If he does come back, he won't have to take the exam again, the way the rest of us did," I stated.

Tsuki told me, "I'll pay this time. I know it's your turn, but you hardly even ate anything."

"See you next month," I offered, rising to my feet, "I'll let you know before then if…"

"Same," she agreed. We didn't really have hope that anything would change, but if either of us could find even the smallest suggestion that our missing friend was out there somewhere, dead or alive, we would do whatever it took to track him down.

I headed to the training grounds, running a little late, but Kakashi-sensei had come to expect that of me once a month. He was lucky I wasn't later, since it was the six-year anniversary. Okami had officially been missing long enough to be declared dead to the world.

Inojin asked, "Are you feeling alright, Shikadai?"

"I'm fine," I informed him.

"Alright," Kakashi-sensei said, "Today, we've got a B-ranked mission to escort a small caravan to a nearby village. There's a possibility that a couple of low ranked missing nin are going to attack it, but I wouldn't be too worried. The intel says they're only genin."

I nodded once, even as sensei led the way to the village gates. There was a strange sight there, however. Two teams of ANBU appeared to be facing off.

Kakasi-sensei asked, his voice suddenly much sharper than it had been, "What's going on?"

No one spoke, and the standoff continued. I wondered where the client was.

"Sensei, if we wait here too long, the client will leave without us," Inojin complained. He always had the wrong idea about when to keep his mouth shut. He was good at gaining information, but bad at avoiding fights.

"Well, Inojin, I'd love to get going," Kakashi-sensei agreed, "but I'm afraid those ANBU-sans might take offense if we walked through the middle of their argument."

One of the ANBU on the periphery of the team that looked like it was trying to leave the village, looked over and examined us, obviously working to determine if we were threats. He was wearing a bunny mask. The leader of his team, a man in a cat mask, was making hand signs at the leader of the other team, but Kakashi-sensei wasn't putting his own word in for some reason.

The other ANBU team was led by a man in a weasel mask, and his team seemed to be spread out to prevent the other team from leaving the village.

Chocho grumbled, "I didn't bring enough snacks for this."

"Kakashi-sensei," I asked, my voice soft, "What's going on?"

"Why would he know? Those hand signs aren't the ones we learned," Inojin pointed out.

I glared at the other boy, then looked back at sensei.

The ANBU in the bunny mask took a step towards us, but another ANBU on his team put a hand on his chest, obviously preventing him from moving any closer. That ANBU had a mouse mask, but the bunny mask ANBU didn't seem to want to be held back.

Finally, all the ANBU vanished, but I couldn't get the image of the bunny masked ANBU out of my head. Why had he tried to approach us? Why did the other ANBU stop him? Nothing seemed to be making any sense.

Tsuki

Lee-sensei had given me the day off from practice, not that I'd wanted it. Honestly, it was easier if I could just _do_ something, rather than sit around and wait for the day to be over. I went to the memorial stone, where there was a freshly carved name in the stone.

"Fugaku-sama," I greeted with a bow, remembering how Okami had to bow to me all the time. I focused on the memorial stone though, not wanting to think about that.

Fugaku-sama remarked, "I'm surprised the Nara-heir isn't with you."

"Kakashi-sensei decided to take his team on a mission today," I told him, "Lee-sensei thought it would be better if I had time off, but I would have rather had a mission. It hurts more when there's nothing else to distract me. Everyone keeps saying it'll get better, but there are so many questions we don't know the answers to, and he's just… gone."

Kakashi

One of the teams of ANBU were trailing us, and I had a feeling it wasn't Sasuke's team. The conversation they'd been having implied the team following us was under investigation, but they had orders to go on this mission specifically. That meant that politics were either set to protect or destroy this ANBU team.

"Sensei…" Shikadai started, but he trailed off. He knew they were following us too, and it made him uncomfortable. He swore that he'd seen an ANBU with a snake mask take Okami away, not that any ANBU _had_ snake masks, but I believed him. If it was a one time mask for a high profile mission, it would make perfect sense. The real question was how someone had managed to put Okami under a genjutsu strong enough that he didn't break it immediately. He was normally good at recognizing when he was in one, even if he didn't yet have a sharingan.

That was the past though, and this mission would require me to focus on the present. I doubted that there would be any issues. Even with two genin on the team, we could handle this. Unless the ANBU were sent to take one of us out. Then I might have some difficulty.


	14. ANBU

( _Sorry for the late update. I was traveling._ )

Shikadai

The mission itself went off without incident. The missing nin didn't poke their heads out, and Kakashi-sensei took the remaining payment from the clients without any difficulty. We moved to head back for the village, but as soon as we were a couple of miles away from the clients, the ANBU team descended.

Kakashi-sensei asked, his voice overly cheery, "What do you need?"

The ANBU in the cat mask drew a kunai and launched forward, only to be stopped by the ANBU in the bunny mask. The team seemed suddenly split, the bunny mask and the mouse mask against the cat mask, the dog mask, and the bird mask.

Cat mask pulled back, obviously confused by bunny mask's action.

Mouse mask backed up a little, moving to keep dog mask and bird mask within his line of sight, but also leaving sensei open to attacks, since he apparently knew, as I did, that the average ANBU didn't stand a chance against the former commander.

Cat mask and bunny mask were obviously having an argument. I wondered vaguely who was winning.

Finally, Kakashi-sensei stepped in.

"If you're on a mission to kill one of us, I'm afraid the division of your team will make it much easier for me to prevent that," Kakashi-sensei pointed out mildly, "I'm sure all of you have read my file." I'd tried once, but the only version I could get my hands on had every other word redacted. Even I couldn't make much sense of it. The only thing I'd gotten out of it was that sensei was dangerous when he wanted to be.

Bunny mask nodded once.

Cat mask stated, his voice low, "We have our orders."

"We couldn't win if we tried," mouse mask argued, "This was a suicide mission. He's the copy nin, and you don't want to fight him any more than we do."

"He's not a traitor," bunny mask added.

I inquired, "Why would you be given the order anyway?"

No one would answer my simple question. Finally, cat mask stood down, and dog mask and bird mask followed his example. Bird mask walked over to bunny mask, punched his shoulder, then turned to look at mouse mask, his head tilting to the side.

Mouse mask nodded slightly, but looked at cat mask.

Cat mask made an exasperated gesture, and then all the ANBU masks were coming off, except for bunny mask's.

"Still don't know why you don't think we could take him, bunny," the former bird mask complained, "He's just one jonin with a chuunin and a couple of genin. You've done assassinations like that by yourself."

"Tenzo?" Kakashi-sensei asked, sounding confused, focused on the former-cat mask, "Why were you ordered to kill me?"

Tenzo informed him, "It was a test of loyalty that we failed, senpai."

"I'm not going to kill someone that I once saved the life of," Uchiha Obito, the one person I recognized out of mask, insisted.

"The Nara would have been mad about their heir anyway," bunny mask added, "Not to mention the Achimichi and Yamanaka clans."

Former-bird mask pointed out, "Stop being such a spoil sport, bunny. You got what you wanted, and the captain gave the go ahead. You don't have to keep your mask on anymore."

Bunny mask shifted uncomfortably, taking a step away from former-bird mask and doing his best to put Uchiha Obito between the two of them.

"Come on," bird mask continued, "You _never_ take off that mask. I've never even seen you eat! You're not a robot like the rest of Root, so you've got to have some humanity under there somewhere."

"Maybe underneath the mask is just another mask," Uchiha Obito remarked.

Former-dog mask was behind bunny mask suddenly, and he grabbed him, while former-bird mask grinned triumphantly. He grabbed the mask and tugged on it, only for nothing to happen. He couldn't get it off.

Bunny mask formed a quick couple of hand signs, and he was suddenly hiding behind Tenzo.

Kakashi-sensei interrupted, "So… ordered to kill me?"

"Danzo thought that after the last mission we needed to prove we were loyal," Tenzo informed him, "Mouse and I fought it from the start, but there wasn't much we could do. The root are going to take us all out now."

"Nah, we'll just tell the Hokage, and he'll get rid of Danzo," Uchiha Obito assured him.

Tenzo shook his head and replied, "There's too much politics involved. He can't just unseat Danzo on our word alone."

Bunny mask's shoulders slumped, but then he formed a quick couple of hand signs.

"You sealed your mask to your face?" former-bird mask demanded, "Do you have any idea how dangerous…?" He trailed off when he saw that face, and somehow I was the first one to react.

Okami made a quiet whining noise in the back of his throat, even as he hugged me back.

Uchiha Obito complained, "Itachi is going to murder me."

"No he won't, senpai," Okami replied, "I was protecting my pack. Danzo tried to make it about the village, but the wolves protected me from his mind games. We're going to take him down now, and we're going to make sure he can _never_ hurt anyone again." His grip on me tightened briefly.

"I didn't think Nara could move that fast," Inojin muttered, and I got the sense that Okami glared at him.

Finally, I pulled myself away from my friend.

"We'll have to go straight to the Hokage without Danzo finding out we failed," Tenzo stated.

"If Team Kakashi could henge themselves to look like corpses," Okami suggested, "Then we can at least get into the village without too much trouble, and maybe even make it to the Hokage if Group Four is still hanging around."

Obito asked, "Why are all my cousins geniuses?"

"I think you bring it upon yourself," Sensei offered, sounding more serious than he possibly could be. Inojin face palmed.

"That should work," Tenzo agreed, "Mouse, you get Kakashi-senpai. Dog, you take Akimichi Chocho. Bunny, take Yamanaka Inoji. Hawk, grab Nara Shikadai. I assume you all have an understanding of what a body bag looks like."

We nodded, and then we formed the signs for the henge.

I couldn't see from where I was draped across Hawk's back, but I knew the ANBU must have pulled their masks back on and started running towards the village. Some part of me was aware of the second team of ANBU tailing us to the Hokage tower. I waited until sensei released his before I let go of the henge.

Hokage-sama asked, "Did you find what you needed?"

"I have everything you'll need," Okami informed him, not hesitating to take off his mask this time, and the new team of ANBU seemed as shocked as everyone else had been. I moved silently to stand next to him.

"I think you are everything we need," the Hokage concluded, "If I had any sympathy for the man, I might almost feel sorry for him."

The ANBU in the weasel mask had already disappeared, along with Uchiha Obito, and I imagined the Main Family of the Uchiha clan was going to make certain that justice was carried out swiftly.

Okami

No one seemed to want me to leave the Hokage's office, which meant I ended up on one of the couches with Shikadai sitting right next to me. Technically, as an ANBU, I was a jonin, even if I had only just received my chuunin vest. I frowned at the strangeness of that, but focused on the large scroll I'd managed to summon back to myself. I'd sent it away the moment Danzo had first freed my hands, and I'd been punished liberally for it.

Shikadai asked, "Are you injured?"

"I've got a few scrapes that are still healing," I offered, "but it's nothing serious. The medic-nin always practically assault us whenever we get back from a mission. Especially those of us that are considered to be in _Root_. Most of the Root ANBU don't really feel anything. The wolf chakra protected me from that because otherwise Danzo would have made me hurt my pack." I would _never_ hurt my pack.

Obito came back, and this time he had my father with him.

I moved to stand up and bow, but Shikadai had sprawled across me and the couch in such a way that it didn't seem to be an option. I settled for my best seated bow.

Father asked, "Are you alright?"

"Assuming Danzo hasn't hurt anyone," I informed him.

"The team is just cleaning up now," Obito assured me, "Danzo tried to send someone after Tsuki, but she wasn't with her team."

Shikadai offered, "Lee-sensei always gives her the anniversary off."

"I would've gotten back sooner, but… he always had someone ready to kill one or both of you. This was the first mission I felt like I even had a chance. He was spread thin, and I knew that with the new assignment no one would be watching you. Tsuki was the only one to worry about, and the risk was worth it," I informed him, my voice soft. I activated my sharingan for a moment, just wanting to make sure that this wasn't a cruel genjutsu, then let myself relax against the couch, letting all the tension fade. My pack was safe, and that meant I could relax.

It must have been hours later that I woke up because it was dark outside and somehow I was laying on the couch with Shikadai sprawled on top of me. He smelled different, but that was to be expected. Puberty changed a lot of things, even in its earliest stages, and I imagined he'd put on the strange smelling deodorant early that morning. It still made me envy Kakashi-sensei's mask. I wondered if I could still count him as my sensei after six years of just being gone.

I looked around and found Tsuki slumped in a nearby chair and most of the Main Family of the Uchiha Clan still awake and sitting in chairs, quietly talking to Kakashi(-sensei?), Obito-senpai, Tenzo-senpai, and Hokage-sama. I managed to get my hands free and bit the fairly permanent scab on my thumb to bloody my fingers and summon my wolf pack. They understood what I wanted immediately and moved to make sure that the area was secure and everyone was safe and uninjured.

Gin told me, "They're all fine."

"Good," I agreed, "Stay and… tell them what happened?"

"You're the alpha," Gin reminded me.

I touched my forehead to his, quickly communicating all of the information on what had happened that he didn't have, then pulled away, put an arm around Shikadai, and drifted off to sleep.

Sasuke

The largest of the wolves wandered over after a moment.

He informed us, "I am Gin. The alpha summoned me to answer your questions, so that he can rest. I know most of what happened to him while he was kept away from his pack."

"We can wait for him to wake up," Naruto quickly told the wolf, "There's no need for you to tell us now."

"You do not understand. He asked me to tell you so that he would not have to. It was not pleasant before he ended up under Tenzo-senpai's care," Gin informed us. He sat down, looking rather regal.

Kakashi remarked, obviously trying to lighten the situation, "My student is my kohai's kohai."

"Alright," Naruto agreed after a moment, pulling out a pen and paper to write up the information as a report so that Okami wouldn't have to, "What happened after the chuunin exams?"

"The Alpha was pulled into a genjutsu that let him think he escaped, when truly he had been captured by…" Gin trailed off, obviously fighting to control his anger, "by that _monster_ that threatened _pack_ ," he slowly pulled himself together, "As soon as… _Danzo_ … released his hands for the first time, thinking he was converted, the Alpha sent the wolf contract to my father, whom you call the Wolf Boss. He was punished for this in ways similar to how his… clan?... punished him, yet those efforts were not quite as severe. The monster threatened Pack if the Alpha would not comply, and the Alpha submitted. The monster trained him, forced the Alpha to become better than even Fang had ever made him, pushing him past the point of exhaustion again and again with threats of harm to Pack. Once he was considered ready, the Alpha was ordered to work with those that had been forced to submit like him at first, but he was not a machine, and they did not like that. The monster reluctantly assigned him to a normal group, not the one you found him with, but they thought the Alpha was a monster for his unquestioning kills. It was for Pack though. If he had questioned, the monster would have hurt Pack. He worked with several teams, but all of them thought he was a monster until he was assigned to Tenzo-senpai. He was confused when the monster ordered the death of Kakashi-sensei and his team, and he didn't want to complete the mission, but Tenzo-senpai didn't argue with the monster. The Alpha wouldn't allow that."

Tenzo explained, looking at Kakashi, "I had no choice. Danzo would have had us all declared traitors, and I didn't think there was a way we could prove he gave the orders. I knew it was basically suicide. Obito wasn't going to be of any help, and it would take more than one team of ANBU to take you out, senpai. Hawk and Dog didn't question the mission, assuming you had done something to hurt the village. They were rather shocked that Okami stood in front of me to stop it from happening. He never refused orders before, no matter what they were."

"I understand," Kakashi offered, "but you could have just told me."

"I would have at the gates, but I was convinced until the moment he stopped me that Okami was a spy for Danzo," Tenzo informed him.

Obito added, "I thought he was going to start the mission at the gates until he stood in front of Tenzo."

"The Alpha wanted to tell Shikadai what was going on," Gin provided, "He got nervous when you stopped him, and he chose to act within parameters until it was time to carry out the mission." ( _Gin speaks formally because he doesn't like to be corrected. He doesn't say the pack because he considered Pack a proper noun, even though it refers to a group of people. It's because Pack makes them one person in his mind, just separate parts of a whole._ )

"Here I thought you were all under Danzo's thumb," I offered, shooting a glare at Naruto.

Naruto countered defensively, "I was just trying to find Root. With all the rest of the teams, when I found one operative, I found five. How was I supposed to know that Tenzo's team was different?"

"Why were you investigating rather than a team?" Itachi asked, "You're the Hokage."

"I didn't know who to trust besides Sasuke. He had missions, and I see all the ANBU on rotation, so I just had to find the ones that I couldn't attach names to no matter how hard I tried. I knew Obito and Tenzo probably weren't involved, but I couldn't account for the rest of their team," Naruto explained.

Mother concluded, "It sounds as if you need to clean house in the ANBU."

"The only problem will be Okami," Naruto told us, "the rest of Root can be kept under the radar until they're either rehabilitated or imprisoned. Okami won't need rehabilitation though, and I had to break up his team. Even if I traded things around so that he could be with Kakashi and Shikadai and Tsuki again, would he be a chuunin or a jonin? Should he stay in ANBU instead? The council will want their say in all of that, but…"

"He has to stay with Pack," Gin insisted vehemently, standing on all fours and looking rather angry at the suggestion that Okami not be allowed to stay with Shikadai and Tsuki.

Naruto said, "Alright. Kakashi, do you want your old team back?"

"Not that the new team is bad," Kakashi told him, "but yes. Shikadai would kill us all if we tried to keep him with Inojin and Chocho. Those three do not have the team dynamic their clans expect from them."

"I'll work it out then. No matter what the council says, Okami is a chuunin, even if that's only on paper, and he can still work with his sensei and his team. Tenzo, that means you'll have to find someone to replace him on your team. Heck, all of the ANBU is probably going to need to be restructured so it's easier to bring people in for a few months and there's less danger of injury or death," Naruto concluded. Then he looked at me, a bright light in his eyes, and I scowled, wondering why I ever complained about ANBU leadership and offered my own ideas in his company. Doing that about anything with him always had him putting me in charge of it. I'd thought I was safe doing it with the ANBU, especially with Tenzo still around.

I informed him, "Complaining about something does not mean that I want to be the one to fix it."

"That's why you don't complain to Hokages," Kakashi offered, "How do you think I ended up leading the ANBU for a while?"

"Then there's tradition behind it," Naruto concluded with a grin.

I rolled my eyes, resigning myself to my fate.

Gin moved away, heading back over to Okami, but the rest of the wolves remained where they were, and it was obvious they were guarding the trio, although a pair of them were close enough to protect us if the need arose. It wasn't a priority, either because Okami didn't think of any of us as part of his pack or because he knew we could defend ourselves better than his summons could.

Kakashi was the one to point out, "They're in ANBU sentry positions." He probably did it for my mom and dad, but I hadn't noticed it until he said something, and _how could no one realize it was him_?

"He never summoned them on missions with us," Obito offered, probably before someone (Itachi or mom) could try to kill him.

"The Root wouldn't have cared if he did," Tenzo added, "and not many ANBU were aware that he'd become the wolf sage. Much of that chuunin exam was considered need to know information, probably because Danzo wanted to hide it from us. I wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't been there."

Itachi kept looking over at his son, and there was a look between relief and pride and sadness and desire to protect and failure there, and I'd be impressed that he was showing so much emotion, but I'd seen him nearly panic when he'd first been told that the baby left on his door step was his son. I'd seen the pure rage in his eyes when he'd found out that someone had burnt his child's arms because the toddler had forgotten to show someone respect. I'd seen the furry he'd felt when his boy was whipped for not bowing to his _best friend_. Itachi was emotional when it came to Okami, and that was something I'd learned to accept the first time I'd seen it. It was shocking, but I understood, if only because I felt the same thing during most of those situations.

Kakashi concluded, "Maybe I'll let him take the jonin exam next year."

ANBU were well beyond jonin, and the semantics of Okami's reintegration into society were going to be difficult.


	15. Morning

( _Had a question about how old these people are. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura are all in their twenties._ )

Okami

I woke up at dawn and dispelled my wolf pack, knowing that they preferred not to be around during the day, especially when I'd kept them out guarding all night. That was almost automatic, as I'd done it every time I'd woken with a pull on my chakra. It was when I saw Shikadai still laying on top of me that I remembered what had happened the day before.

"Hey," I greeted when he looked up at me blearily.

He complained, "It's too early."

"We slept a quarter of yesterday and all last night," I informed him, "It is by no means too early. Tsuki has been awake for at least half an hour, plus time to retrieve her hair brush."

"How do you know it takes half an hour?" Tsuki asked.

I told her, "It takes me twice as long to do that to my hair, and I do it way more sloppily, plus you have more experience and your hair isn't quite as long as mine." It hadn't been cut in six years as a show of mild defiance. I was debating whether or not to keep it long.

"I'm surprised you were allowed to have it that long," Tsuki remarked, "I get scolded as it is because it's a target."

"It wasn't a problem," I replied with a shrug, even as I pushed Shikadai to actually sit up.

Tsuki inquired, "Why not?"

"Mostly because I refused to let it be," I informed her, "but also because anyone that tried to cut my hair ended up pinned to a wall with kunai. Obito was amused when I did it to your cousin Hema, but honestly he had it coming for way more reasons than just trying to cut my hair. I thought everyone in your clan except for you were overly formal, but Hema is completely ridiculous. He tried to play _pranks_ on me a couple of times." I was scowling by the end of my tirade about Hema.

"I'm not surprised. Hema has always been one to joke around a lot. He'll probably feel mortified to know he was picking on you," Tsuki offered.

I asked, "Why?"

Tsuki seemed confused by the question.

(I'm sorry but this pov change is mostly just to give you Shikadai's input as a third party)

Shikadai

The problem with Tsuki was that she generally saw Okami as a clan heir first. Okami saw himself as a shinobi first, as a wolf second, and as an Uchiha probably fifth or sixth down a list I had yet to completely fill in.

Okami

The Hokage's door opened before Tsuki could answer, and in walked the Hokage. I wasn't entirely sure what to do with myself. My ANBU training declared I bow one way, my Uchiha training begged I bow another way, and the Shikadai that had stubbornly laid back down across my lap told me that bowing in any way would be difficult.

Fortunately, the Hokage was followed by pretty much everyone that had been present the night before, a couple of whom appeared to be carrying bags of food, and I felt my mouth start to water when the smell hit my nose.

Shikadai got up reluctantly, apparently as hungry as I was. Somehow, we all ended up sitting in a circle on the floor, with me between Shikadai and my father. I was more focused on the food. Root weren't expected to ask for anything, and so I'd often gone hungry.

I ate cleanly and swiftly as soon as those with the highest ranks took the first bite, although I doubted anyone noticed my careful hesitation. It was nice to inhale food until I was full, rather than eating whatever I had and dealing with the hunger that remained.

After finishing the food, I stretched a little, letting everything pop after having someone sleep on top of me for the entire night. Then I stood, planning to run get my clothes to stuff them in a go bag. What conversation there had been fell silent as everyone turned to look at me.

I told them, "I'm just going to get my go bag. Gin told me I was leaving ANBU, and I'd like to change clothes."

Dad stood up, and we both moved quickly through the town. We'd never been much for physical displays of affection, but the fact that he was there, rather than waiting at the Hokage Tower, was enough to tell me how much he'd missed me.

I moved around the room efficiently, tossing the things I wouldn't be taking with me in a small pile, including most of my ANBU uniforms (I'd keep one around just in case) and the weird things that my current team had given me when they insisted that everyone had a birthday. I kept the calligraphy set that had been thoughtfully given to me by Tenzo, but I doubted I would ever want the weird book Obito had given me or the toy spider Hema had given me because I'd freaked out a little once when I had a spider on my leg (it totally could have been a summon). Tobu had given me a potted plant, which I put next to my go bag, as I knew it would be a bad idea to pack it.

"Who gave you this book?" dad asked, and the look in his eyes seemed… odd.

"Obito gave it to me when he insisted that we had to celebrate my birthday, even if I wouldn't tell him when it was," I explained, "That's also where the spider came from. I never read it. It looked too much like the stuff sensei reads." I wrinkled my nose in distaste at the very idea.

I put my spare ninja tools in the bag last and double checked the room to make sure I'd gotten everything I'd wanted. Then I looked up at my dad and said, "I'm ready to go."

It didn't take us very long to get home, and I headed into my old room to change and attempt to do something quick to my hair if only to keep it out of my face. I settled for a ponytail, although I knew I'd need to brush out my hair as soon as I had the time to spare.

We went back to the Hokage Tower once we were done.

"Alright," the Hokage told us, "Team Kakashi is now Tsuki, Shikadai, and Okami again. Inojin and Chocho are going back to Kurenai, and she's getting one of the genin that just graduated. Lee is getting one of the kids that just graduated to fill in for Tsuki."

"We'll having a training session in two days at eight o'clock," Kakashi-sensei offered, which really meant we'd probably start training around nine, if not closer to ten. It was fine. He disappeared before any of us could say as much.

Dad told me, "It's been requested that we both be at the clan council meeting tonight."

"Alright," I agreed with a sigh, "I'm guessing they're going to want to know if I've activated my sharingan or not." Six years of not having to deal with clan politics had spoiled me.

Dad suggested, "Perhaps you should have lunch with your team. There are a few things I need to take care of before that meeting."

I looked to my teammates, and they both nodded.

"Alright, see you tonight then," I offered.

 _Flashback_

Two Years Previous

"ANBU Bunny," Danzo stated, and I knew he'd tried to make my moniker rabbit, but no one had listened to him, "You're being reassigned again. Perhaps ANBU Cat's team will be the ones to accept you."

I bowed just barely enough to be considered respectful, although I knew Danzo expected me to bow more deeply. There wasn't much he could do about it though. I was too careful for that.

Danzo ordered, "ANBU Cat has asked that you meet them at hidden training ground five." ( _This is my head cannon that the ANBU have a variety of carefully hidden training grounds where they practice and train the way other teams do_.)

I disappeared from the room without a trace and ran quickly to the training ground he had referred to. Something seemed different about this ANBU team. They weren't tense when I appeared, and I wondered if they'd even read my file.

"Bunny, welcome to the team," Cat offered, "We were told you're a genjutsu and taijutsu specialist."

I nodded once, as I didn't normally talk much to anyone. All I ever wanted to do was say my real name, and that would only get my pack killed.

"Enough formality Cat, shouldn't we introduce ourselves?" the one in the bird mask inquired. He did his best to sneak up behind me, but I had sensed him coming easily.

Cat offered, "Bunny, that's Hawk. The other two are Dog and Mouse."

I nodded again to show I understood.

"So who gets to break in the new kid?" Hawk inquired, moving to lean against me, although I carefully moved so that he wouldn't have the chance, "I mean, I'd love to, but the medic-nin told me not to do anything too strenuous until my ankle heals."

"That injury seems to appear and disappear at will," Mouse remarked.

Hawk insisted, "The pretty medic-nin told me two weeks."

"I'm sure Sakura-san would destroy you if she heard you refer to her that way," Cat informed him, "She would certainly make you wait out those weeks in bed instead of out here."

"Yeah, yeah. Which one of you is going to beat up the new kid to test his skills?" Hawk asked. He seemed overly excited for it.

Dog stated, "He's completed more missions than you. It shouldn't be necessary."

"What?" Hawk demanded, "I thought we were getting a greenie?"

"Just because he's smaller than you does not mean he's less experienced," Mouse admonished.

Hawk complained, "You're just saying that because you were on a genin team with the Copy Nin, old man."

I did my best to hide my curiosity at that statement, even as I examined Mouse more carefully. He seemed vaguely familiar, and I finally placed him as one of the ninja that had been outcast from the clan, Uchiha Obito. His career had given me hope that I could escape the Uchiha before. Now, the only solace I had was in occasionally checking up on my old team to make certain they were okay.

"We'll do some team training today," Cat offered, obviously tired of what had to be an old argument, "Just so we can get used to working together, and so Sakura-san doesn't get mad at us for letting Hawk get hurt more.

Later

Hawk asked as we sat down for lunch, "So what's your real name?"

I glared at him, letting killing intent wash over him, then refocused on the bento that I'd packed that morning.

"Alright, you're one of the ones that thinks that has to be private for the safety of those you care about or something like that," Hawk concluded, "I prefer to have faith they can protect themselves. Take my cousin, Tsuki. She's ten, a chuunin, and she's already lost a teammate, but she doesn't let any of that slow her down."

"Hema, stop bragging about your cousin. Do you even spend any time with her?" Mouse demanded.

Hawk (Hema?) countered, "You bragged about her when she was still on your boyfriends team."

"He's not my boyfriend," Mouse insisted, "We only share an apartment for convenience." Sensei had a boyfriend?

"You don't talk about his team much now that he's lost the Uchiha prodigy," Hawk added, obviously intending for that to be the end of the argument.

Cat cut in, "The loss of Uchiha Okami was no one's fault."

"Were you there?" Mouse inquired, "I was on a long mission that day, so I couldn't be, but you make it sound like you were there."

"Yes, I was part of the Hokage's guard that day. We all assumed Uchiha Okami would be safe once he summoned the wolf boss. We didn't account for the fact that he would prioritize the Nara heir over himself," Cat explained.

I knew then that I wouldn't be able to summon my wolves with this group around. Perhaps my thumb would finally actually heal a little bit. As it was, I had a fairly permanent scab, which was actually fairly useful. Maybe I'd reopen it every once in a while so that it wouldn't have the chance to heal. If this ANBU team were anything like the others, I'd be done with them in less than three months and onto whoever Danzo thought could actually stand to work with me.

"Bunny," Dog asked, focused entirely on me, "can you talk?"

I replied immediately, my voice soft and low, "Yes."

"They say it's always the quiet ones you have to worry about the most," Hawk commented.

"Oh?" I inquired, "Who's _they_?"

Hawk offered, "I don't know. It's just something my mom always said about my cousins when I complained about how reserved they were."

"You certainly aren't what's expected from a Hyuuga," Mouse agreed.

"Like you're what's expected of an Uchiha," Hawk countered, "At least I still have both of my eyes."

Mouse pointed out, "If I had both of my eyes, the Copy Nin wouldn't have ever earned the moniker. Just think of all the lives my other eye has saved. It's really quite impressive."

"I don't think Kakashi-senpai would appreciate you taking credit for those," Cat remarked.

"Eh, he'd be fine with it if he knew it was just to put an arrogant youngster in his place," Mouse replied with a shrug, "I'm certain he tells his team all about me."

I almost told him he was wrong, but stopped myself before I could.

Hawk countered, "I doubt he'd want your bad influence on any of them."

"Who's in his team now?" Dog inquired.

Mouse filled in, "He's got the Ino-Shika-Cho team now, not that the Shika part is very happy about it."

"Poor kid, lost his best friend and then his team all at once," Hawk remarked, "From what I hear, he isn't recovering nearly as quickly as Tsuki is."

"This team gossips like old women," I stated, mostly desiring that they stop pointing out how my pack was hurting without me there.

Mouse laughed, Hawk looked like he was blushing, Cat examined me curiously, and Dog offered, "You get used to it."


	16. Sage

( _You know, I started posting this expecting flames and that no one would care, but this story somehow managed to gain a small following. I will say, we only have a few more weeks of prepared chapters, and I don't know when the inspiration fairy will hit me, but I'll let you know if updates are going to start to become extremely irregular. I'll do my best to keep this schedule, but who knows what will happen._ )

Present

"So what was it like?" Tsuki inquired, "I remember you said once that you wanted to join ANBU."

"Educational," I informed her.

Tsuki complained, "That hardly tells me anything."

"Well, it's mostly confidential," I offered, "and what wasn't confidential was Hema and Obito-senpai arguing over which one of them had the better claim on Kakashi-sensei's team being awesome before I disappeared. Having heard of neither of them until I joined ANBU, I decided that Obito-senpai probably did, since he's apparently the only reason why sensei has a sharingan."

"Wha-? Kakashi didn't ever tell you about me?" Obito-senpai complained, and I'd sensed him nearby, but as usual decided not to act on in. He leaned into the space between me and Tsuki, as the bar stools at the ramen stand kept us apart.

Shikadai offered, "He once told us something about a teammate that sacrificed everything for him, but you appear to be alive."

"Proves my point," Hema offered, draping himself on top of me.

"You know," I remarked, my tone dark, "I no longer have to do my best to prevent you from being injured when I retaliate against you."

Hema removed himself from my person quickly and chose to sit on the other side of Tsuki.

Tsuki inquired, "Why don't you bow to Obito?"

"I'm probably the only jonin Uchiha alive he doesn't have to bow to," Obito-senpai provided, "I'm an outcast."

"How are you an outcast?" Shikadai queried, obviously confused.

I told him, "Obito-senpai gave Kakashi-sensei his left eye when he thought he was going to die after Kakashi-sensei lost his original eye. When Obito-senpai came back, he refused to make Kakashi-sensei give his eye back. The clan council was not happy about that, and declared Obito-senpai an outcast until he got his eye back. Unfortunately, that's not really an option for me."

My Minders reappeared, and they were just about to grab my elbows.

"The heck are those?" Obito-senpai asked, even as his killing intent washed over the room, "What do they think they're going to do to my cousin?"

"Claiming him as your cousin is…" one of the Minders started.

Obito-senpai offered, "Something that should rightly terrify you. I wonder why you want to hurt someone who's going to be clan heir. Could it be a last ditch effort to get rid of him? You should really be afraid because I _understand_ clan politics, and you can't know what I've been teaching him for the last two years."

The Minders vanished.

"You take longer to do that than sensei," I complained, "Those ones almost dragged me away to add more scars to my back."

"Everyone knows to fear Kakashi. Most people forget to fear me until I remind them," Obito-senpai offered with a shrug.

Shikadai seemed to be barely containing his rage, while Tsuki looked like she was about to go after the Minders.

Hema commented, "I didn't know the Uchiha still did that to kids."

"They normally don't," I provided, "It's just bastards like me that get that kind of treatment."

"You shouldn't talk about yourself that way," Hema informed me.

I laughed and said, "I'm not using it as a curse, just an apt descriptor. No one knows who my mother is, which is impressive considering how intelligent my father is."

Hema seemed surprised.

"Here I thought between you and Obito-senpai, everything about the new Team Kakashi was up for grabs," I remarked bitterly, "I guess it just goes to show that no one knows everything." I paid for my food and moved to leave, knowing that I'd have to get ready for the council meeting before long. Something had to be done to my hair to make it look presentable, and I was certain that would take hours.

Shikadai grabbed my shoulder before I could disappear, and I took a deep breath to calm the fire inside of me. Part of me was actually upset that I had to go back to my normal life because of the clan that would only continue to hold me back once they found out about my eyes. Nothing would be sacred then, and they would do their best to control every part of me.

"You're not alone, and there are people who know you," Shikadai stated, his voice soft and somehow gentle, like he was worried I would shatter if he spoke too loudly.

I nodded once, to give him my thanks, but informed him, "If I don't leave now, I'll show up in front of the village council with my hair in knots, and apparently it's important to look presentable when they ruin your life." I pulled away from his grasp and then disappeared into the crowd, fully aware of the Minders that started trailing me as soon as I got far enough away from Obito-senpai for them to feel safe about it.

I waited until I got home to flare my own killing intent enough to make them think I was my father an Tenzo-senpai in the same house in a shouting match that would end in death. I worked the brush through my hair, then distractedly wondered if it would look better to braid it or put it in a ponytail. Neither were the tight bun I used on missions, but I doubted that would be approved of. With a sigh, I made a decision, figuring if the clan council cared that much about my hair, maybe they'd declare me an outcast, and I could live outside of the compound and the politics for the rest of my life. I was never that lucky though.

 _Flashback_

ANBU times

( _I'm too lazy to specify, but it's after he's under Tenzo._ )

"Bunny, I've got to know who your jonin-sensei was," Hawk insisted.

I ignored him as I continued working on weaving grass to pass the time. Cat's meeting was running long, and there was nothing to do until he got back.

Hawk added, "I'll get you those swords you've been eyeing in that weapons shop." My hands froze.

"Come on, there's a reason why I'm called Hawk," he insisted, "It wasn't that hard to notice the way you look at them."

"ANBU don't make that kind of money," I insisted, focusing on the grass again.

Hawk pointed out, "But I'm a clan brat. I've got the money to get them for you if you'll just give me that tiny piece of information. Most jonin-senseis have heaps of teams."

I knew I didn't have any choice.

"Much as I may want them," I informed him, "I'm not going to tell you anything."

"Ha! Pay up, Hawk," Mouse claimed triumphantly.

Hawk offered a few coins to Mouse.

I inquired, "Mouse, since I helped you win your bet, maybe _you_ could get me those swords."

"You told him?" Hawk demanded, "That's completely unfair."

"You made that bet while we were on a mission together," I pointed out.

Hawk insisted, "We were way too far away for you to hear!"

"Obviously, someone has been underestimated," I remarked, still weaving grass, "and someone made money from that, and someone wants a pair of swords."

"I can't fault that logic. Sure, I'll get them for you, but you have to call me senpai," Mouse informed me.

I shrugged and agreed, "Alright, Mouse-senpai."

"If you call him senpai," Hawk argued, "You'll have to call Cat senpai too, since he's your superior."

"It's worth it," I replied.

Present

My father arrived home, and we walked to the main household. I bowed to those above me like I was supposed to, pulling the trick I'd used against Danzo to make it seem like I wasn't quite bowing deeply enough. Only the truly petty would call me out on it, especially with my father so near. Unfortunately, it seemed I had forgotten how petty my clan could be.

One of the clan elders, Uchiha Sonkei, informed me, his voice harsh, "Don't think that just because you've been missing for a couple of years, you can skimp on bowing now."

"Sonkei-sama, I apologize if you think I've slighted you," I told him, bowing again in the exact same way, "That was not my intention."

Sonkei seemed about to say something more, but then my father's killing intent started radiating, and I moved to follow the man as we continued towards the main household. As soon as we got inside, I was led away to the kitchen, where Mikoto-sama was overseeing the cooking.

I bowed to her in the more proper way, but before I could even fully straighten, she wrapped me in a hug.

"Welcome home," she told me.

I thought about pointing out that I'd been in the village almost the entire time, but decided against it and just hugged her back.

I said, "You just saw me yesterday."

"You were busy with your friends then," Mikoto-sama reminded me. She pulled away, looked me up and down, then ordered, "Itachi, make sure all the food is ready for the meeting." She then led me into a side room and pulled my hair out of the ponytail.

"Was it not nice enough?" I inquired.

Mikoto-sama informed me, "It looked fine, but if you're going to get in a fight, you'll need your hair out of the way, and we can't be sure what's going to happen at this council meeting. There are ways we can make it look nice and keep it out of your way if you want to keep it this long."

"It was the only sign of rebellion I managed to show," I offered sheepishly, "I guess now that I'm home I should probably get it cut, but I don't know if I want to."

"It's up to you, but I would recommend at least getting it trimmed up a little. The ends are looking a little damaged," Mikoto-sama told me.

I agreed, figuring that nodding was a bad idea, "Alright. I'll probably do that tomorrow. I don't go back to training until the day after anyway." My hair ended up in an intricate looking bun, which I doubted I could ever dream of replicating. I adjusted the large scroll I was carrying again, making sure that it was situated so that it wouldn't be too awkward to sit down or stand up. With that done, Mikoto-sama and I walked to the room where the clan meeting would be held. I bowed before entering, then walked in and took a seat to the right of my father, which was only allowed because I was still his heir, even though I wasn't heir to the Uchiha Clan.

Fugaku-sama walked in, which affectively called the meeting to order.

"As many of you know, my grandson has been returned to us unharmed," Fugaku-sama remarked, "As he has now reached the age of twelve, we will again review his eligibility as Clan Heir." I could hear the capitalization.

Someone demanded, "Does he even have a sharingan yet?"

Fugaku-sama looked at me.

I activated my bloodline trait and looked from face to face, reading anger and nervousness all over the room. I deactivated them rather quickly, not wanting to waste my chakra on something as trivial as showing off my eyes. I knew they would have seen two tomoe in each of my eyes, and I hoped that I would never make it up to three.

"He can't be a worthy heir," one of the elders insisted, "He refers to an outcast as 'senpai'. That has been enough in the past to have others be declared outcasts."

"We don't even know what he's been doing for the last six years," another added.

A third pointed out, "and that scroll he's kept with him could contain anything!"

"The scroll is a contract with the wolf boss," my father informed them, "Okami was captured by Danzo and forced into ANBU, where he has been for the last six years, although any further information is considered classified. I imagine he refers to Uchiha Obito as senpai because the man has achieved mangekyo." It was all for the swords. I couldn't care less about the mangekyo if I tried.

Sonkei inquired, "When did he gain the sharingan?"

"Why would that matter?" a Branch Family Head asked, and I was a little surprised that this part of clan law wasn't yet common knowledge, "It's obvious the main family is conspiring to make him their heir."

"If he didn't achieve sharingan until after he became a member of ANBU, then he is not a worthy heir," Sonkei explained.

I stood up and moved to leave, ignoring the gasp.

Fugaku-sama asked, "Where are you going?"

"I've done some research since I've been gone," I replied, standing before the door for a moment, "Did you know that as a sage I have a right to attend any clan meeting and enter and leave clan grounds as I please? Apparently this village loves sages, or one of the sannin needed an excuse to spy or something. It doesn't really matter. It amounts to the same thing. I am the wolf sage, and I can come and go as I please. If you decide to make me clan heir, I will do my best to fulfill that role, but I have no love for this clan, and I doubt that will change any time soon. If you notice I no longer show you honor, it is because I am a sage, and the only beings I have to honor are the Hokage and the wolf boss. Obviously, there's some other reason why this council would hate it if I lead this clan, and I suspect it will be easier to get out into the open air if I'm not hanging about. If any Minders are sent after me, I will ignore their orders to come to the clan for a punishment, and if they try to force me to come, I will resist with every resource I have available. Congratulations, I'm not much of an Uchiha with everything this clan has put me through, and it's almost made me regret getting out from under Danzo's thumb. If you need me, I imagine most of you know where my father's house is by this point. Also, if any of you try to discipline me, the way Sonkie did when I was _three_ , I will fight back. As a sage, I'm outside of the classic clan ranking brackets. You can't control me, you can't force me to do anything, and you certainly can't dictate who I use honorifics with. This is all part of village law that went into effect before I ever became the wolf sage. It's in codex S, in case you're curious." I walked out of the room and closed the door. After several deep breaths to calm the rage burning within me, I walked out of the main household and back to my home, no longer bowing to everyone that had been ranked higher than me.

I summoned Gin as soon as I got home.

He asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'll be okay eventually. I just… ranted… at some very dangerous people, and I'm a little concerned for my safety. Think the pack would mind patrolling my den tonight?" I inquired.

"No," Gin informed me, "We will always protect you in whatever way we can." I summoned the rest of my pack, smiled softly at them and let them work out the patrol schedule themselves. Gin decided to stay with me, since his nature affinity wouldn't be affective against the fire affinity most of the clan had.

I stated, "At least I've got the rest of my pack back. The usual exemptions should be made, but especially my father. He's going to want to be here eventually."

Sasuke

After Okami's speech, silence reigned for several minutes.

"A Sage?" one of the clan elders demanded, "Why weren't we informed of this when it happened?"

"It happened during Okami's month of training before the chuunin exam. I'm certain you would have been informed of it had he not been immediately kidnapped," Itachi offered. There was pride in his voice. Neither of us had any objections to Okami not being clan heir. We'd mostly just wanted to make certain we could see him without having to sneak around.

Mother added, "If I remember correctly, mistreating a Sage has its own consequences, even within our clan laws." Okami knew those better than almost anyone else, and that almost was mother. She knew clan law backwards, forwards, and sideways.

"We will continue the discussion about whether or not Okami will be clan heir when he officially reaches the rank of jonin," Itachi stated, "Is there any other business tonight?"

"Several of Danzo's connections have been linked to certain members of this council. I was told to inform everyone that their roles would be investigated individually, and if any crimes were found, those responsible would be arrested," I offered. The council was aware of my ANBU status, although they didn't know how high I was ranked, especially now that I was taking over as commander.

Itachi nodded, then inquired, "Would anyone like to tell me why they find my son so despicable?"

Sonkie, who had already been marked for death by mother, looked like he was going to do something stupid.

"He is a bastard," Sonkie stated.

"Yes," Itachi agreed, "As are three of the Branch Family Heads in this room. Arguments have been made about the Hokage being a bastard, if only because his mother refused to change her name. The second head of the Uchiha Clan after we joined the village was a bastard, and all records show he was treated more kindly than Okami has been treated."

One of the wiser elders, Chie, offered, "There has been a vision, and the interpretation of that vision led many to believe that Okami would be the end of the Uchiha Clan."

"What was the vision of?" Itachi inquired.

"The village council in many years," Chie informed him, "Uchiha Okami was seen destroying the chair that we have had there for generations. The interpretation seemed obvious to many, and they have acted to try to remove the boy from power."

Itachi asked, "Was the person that had the vision certain that it was the Uchiha's chair? Okami was mostly responsible for Danzo's removal from power."

"Yes, I was certain it was the Uchiha chair. I did not wish to believe that the boy could betray the clan, but I cannot see a way that he could possibly not have turned his back on the clan," Chie explained.

"It appears that you've all ensured that Okami has no love for this clan," I remarked, "Thus, the vision is self-fulfilling."

Sonkie insisted, "We must do whatever we can to ensure that the boy can't have power enough to take such action."

"He's a sage now. You cannot remove him from power," mother pointed out.

"The scroll can be destroyed," Sonkie suggested, "If he is allowed to grow, then he will destroy us."


	17. Pup

(Just a quick note: in this chapter, we see the village council. While I recognize that several of those I claim are on the council are not heirs to their particular clan, this is an AU, so I can do what I want with it, and I wanted to write characters that I could mostly actually remember. Enjoy.)

Okami

I woke up when my dad got back, so I stood up and went down stairs. I asked, "So did they tell you why they hate me?"

"One of the elders had a vision that you would be responsible for the destruction of the clan," father offered.

"That doesn't even make sense," I complained, "I have nothing against the main family, and as of yet, I've done nothing to the branch families but show them the respect I've been forced to show them all my life. Besides, the Uchiha Clan protects the village, and I would never harm the village."

Father informed me, "Some of the clan is going to try to destroy your scroll to remove you from power."

"I wish them luck with that. They'll need lots of it if they want to get close enough to me to destroy this scroll. If it's ever in too much danger, I can ask the wolf boss to hold onto again until it's no longer in danger. I can't believe that they think I would destroy the clan. Unless the clan betrays the village, I have no reason to attack the clan," I offered.

"No one has believed that," father told me, "With my father retiring, they're going to start trying even harder to make certain you're unworthy. Fortunately, Mikoto-sama says that there are also clan laws that protect sages, so anyone that attacks you can be disciplined."

I shook my head and said, "I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Getting rid of the Minders will probably be the first thing I do if I ever do become Clan Head, no matter what the council says. I have twenty-five lashes on my back, and I'm not going to let that happen to anyone else. I can protect myself if it comes to it, and I will protect myself if anyone tries anything."

"Just be careful," my father warned, "Perhaps… if you have an ANBU tattoo, showing it might make some of those assigned to go after you a little more hesitant."

"No. Then I could never be in ANBU again, and I'll probably rejoin when my team is inevitably forced to break up because the Hyuuga want their heir to get proper training in how to be a clan head," I told him.

Father remarked, "That's a good argument for you becoming clan heir. We'll have a better relationship with the Hyuuga and the Naara than we've had in generations."

"And if I'm not heir," I pointed out, "The Uchiha Clan will have the worst relationship with the Hyuuga and the Naara it's had in generations. Even if I tell Shikadai and Tsuki that I don't mind, it won't matter much. They'll still be upset on my behalf."

"Not to mention what the packs in the area will think if you're hurt by the Uchiha Clan," Gin reminded me.

I told him, "As I've said in the past, the packs should let me fight my own battles. It's my duty to protect them, not the other way around."

"Akua received word from the local pack," Gin informed me, "They're reporting more of their pups are being attacked."

"Guess I have a mystery to solve after I get a haircut tomorrow," I remarked.

Father warned me, "Be careful."

"I'll do my best," I offered, "Shikadai and Tsuki will probably want to come with me, so I'll at least have back up while I investigate."

 _Flashback_

ANBU under Tenzo

I felt… unreasonably angry.

"Bunny?" Mouse asked, "You doing alright?"

"It was an innocent pup. Who would do this?" I demanded.

Mouse offered, "This is a Hidden Village. We have a higher number of psychopaths. If they're found out, they'll be given enough counselling to become a ninja, but if you're not finding anything we can trace, they'll mostly go under the radar. I don't see any chakra signatures, so they did this with just a kunai."

I did my best to fix up the little pup, hoping that he would be okay. Mouse watched my back while I did so, having another pair cover our patrol rout for the time being. Once I was finished, I looked around for any sign of the pup's pack.

"There should be a pack nearby," I remarked, "This pup won't survive if he's left to find his own way there."

"Think you can track them down?" Mouse inquired.

I shrugged, but started off towards the place the closest pack's den had been. The pup started struggling to get out of my hands when he picked up the scent, and I got the sense that he had picked up the scent of his pack, so I got us to the edge of the den, carefully concealing my chakra, which Mouse also did, and I set down the pup, who ran straight over to his parents.

The Alpha looked straight at me for a moment, and I hoped that Mouse hadn't noticed his slight nod.

Mouse asked, "Did that wolf just nod at you?"

"That's impossible," I replied, "Wolves don't have that much sentience." That was a lie, but I wasn't going to admit to _anything_.

Present

Late Morning

Shikadai

Okami's hair was shorter. It was also being restrained by a tight ponytail. Gin was with him already.

"What's going on?" Tsuki inquired.

Okami explained, "A few of the local packs have been having issues with their pups showing up mutilated. The poor things would have died if I didn't find them, and it's obvious that the mutilation was done by human hands. Today, we're going to track down the monster that's hurting wolf pups. I mean, unless either of you have something else you need to be doing. It's not like I can't do it myself, but I figured you guys would want to come along."

"I don't have anything I need to do," I offered, "My dad has a meeting with the village council, and my mom is visiting her family this week."

"I'm not busy either," Tsuki assured us both.

Okami grinned and led the way towards the edge of the village.

Tsuki asked as we walked by a small group of Uchiha, "Wasn't that one of the Branch Family Heads? Won't you get in trouble for not bowing?"

"Turns out Sages have all sorts of rights I didn't know about until I started researching them specifically while I was in ANBU," Okami informed her, "I waited until the clan meeting last night to stop bowing because I wanted to make sure everyone understood _why_ I don't have to bow to anyone except the Clan Head now. I'm basically outside of clan rankings for the time being. Heck, I don't even have to use honorifics if I don't feel like it. They also can't get after me for treating you and Shikadai like normal people because I'm exempted from your clan rankings too. It's village laws that are protecting me now, not just clan ones. If I really wanted to, I could go to the clan meetings your clans have with the argument that, as a Sage, I'm allowed to sit in on any council meetings. Even the village council couldn't deny me access anymore. Being a sage is the best thing to happen to me basically ever, and that's ignoring the nice chakra stuff I can do because of it."

"That is still a strange way to refer to the power inside of you," Gin complained.

Okami retorted, "Your term for it doesn't have a good translation into my language, since your term is more just an image and a scent. That's not how we express things in spoken languages."

"Humans are weird," Gin agreed, "You are better than most, but your sense of smell is still weak."

"That's not my fault," Okami informed him. We left the village and walked into a small clearing, which still had a few bloodstains in it.

Gin sniffed around, obviously trying to find a scent.

Tsuki suggested, "If you can't find it, Gin, we can ask sensei if we can borrow one of his summons."

"Gin is the tracker of my pack," Okami told her, "If he can't find the scent, none of sensei's summons will either."

"If he's the tracker, why is he the leader?" I inquired.

Okami filled in, "Technically, I'm the alpha, but Gin leads the pack because of where we live. The rest of the pack takes a lot longer to recover from using too much of their chakra at once, but Gin's refills faster because he's from the forest. Akua is the lead female because she can refill her chakra at any given body of water of sufficient size, although she prefers to get it from lakes rather than rivers, and also because she's Gin's mate."

"I have the scent," Gin told us, "It heads back towards your village."

"Lead on," Okami ordered.

Gin led the way into the village, pausing every once and a while to pick up the scent again in more crowded areas. Most people were very nervous about his presence in the village, which I supposed made sense. They weren't used to seeing wolves walking around, or any other summon for that matter. Kakashi-sensei or the Inuzuka were seen walking their dogs occasionally, but the Hokage didn't have his frogs out unless combat was involved. Obviously, Okami was a very different kind of sage.

Gin led us into the Inuzuka clan grounds, surprisingly enough, and Tsuki and I stuck closer to Okami, not fully trusting that we wouldn't be turned away.

Kiba-sama inquired, stopping us before we could get very far into the area, "Is there something you need, Wolf Sage?" Anyone could hear the capitalization.

"There have been a number of mutilated wolf pups in the forests around the village," Okami explained, "Gin is following the scent of the mutilator, and it has led us here. Do you have any reason to believe that any member of your clan would take such action? If I didn't trust Gin's nose, I would doubt we are even in the right place, but he has never led me astray before." Okami seemed more confident than he had ever been before, and I could tell that Kiba-sama was treating him as an equal, rather than an average clan brat.

"I haven't seen anything, but if someone here is doing that to pups, then you can be sure that they'll be punished. Just because we work with dogs doesn't mean we don't respect wolves," Kiba-sama offered.

Okami told him, "Then I'll tell you who I find and let you take care of it internally. If it happens again after I find the perpetrator, however, I will handle it myself."

Kiba-sama nodded and moved aside.

Gin led the way further into the clan grounds, and I was glad that we moved towards the house of a branch family, rather than the house of the main family. We came upon a girl a year or so younger than us, and Gin started growling.

"Who are you?" the girl demanded, "Why do you have that beast with you?"

"His name is Gin, and he thinks you've been hurting pups," Okami informed her, his voice growing dark and killing intent starting to radiate off of him.

The girl seemed surprised by the accusation, but she quickly defended herself, "If I've been harming beasts like this one, it's only because they harmed me first."

"Most people would take you at your word," Okami offered, "but I'm not most people. I _know_ that those pups didn't do anything to you. They drifted too far from their packs, and then they were grabbed by someone with an unfamiliar scent and damaged until they would have died if they were left untreated. Fortunately, I found them before they could die every time."

The girl was starting to look a little nervous.

"I promised your clan head that I would leave you to him, so I suppose I'll just have to report you to him now," Okami remarked.

The girl pulled out a kunai, but Okami's killing intent flashed, and it was all the girl could do to keep her feet under her. Kiba-sama appeared an instant later and restrained the girl with ease.

Okami offered, "Thank you for your cooperation, Kiba-sama. If you'll excuse us, there's something else I have to do today."

Kiba-sama nodded, already more focused on the girl.

"That was awesome," Tsuki exclaimed as soon as we left the clan grounds, "How did you tell Kiba-sama where we were?"

"I flared my killing intent. The only reason ANBU didn't appear was because I was familiar to the group on patrol. We're in the middle of the village, normally flaring killing intent there would immediately make all sorts of ANBU appear to assess the situation.," Okami explained.

I asked, "What else do you need to do today?"

"Nothing, it was just the fastest way to get out of there," Okami explained, "Gin was getting really mad."

"She hurt pups," Gin pointed out.

Okami agreed, "Yes, she did, but the Inuzuka Clan can be allowed to discipline her. If it happens again, we can track her down and punish her for it by pack code, but I have to give them the chance. That's part of village law. Technically, she wasn't breaking any laws of the village, but she was breaking her Clan's laws as well as disrespecting a Sage. The Inuzuka Clan will forbid her from receiving her own ninken until she proves that she had no desire to do harm to pups, and they'll also ensure she receives counseling. If it had been another clan, I could request to handle the situation within pack code, but the Inuzuka can handle it better than I can."

"I understand," Gin relented, "but I do not like it."

"I get it. You should probably get some rest. I've kept you out too long as it is," Okami pointed out.

Gin nodded, and then he was gone in a puff of smoke.

Okami suggested, "Let's get some lunch."

"That sounds good," Tsuki agreed, "We could go to that BBQ place you like."

"Gosh, yes. I haven't been there in months. Obito-senpai was obsessed with ramen, and he managed to convince Hema and Tobu to vote to go there every time Tenzo-senpai offered to take us out to dinner," Okami told us.

I remarked, "You must be tired of ramen then."

"It's not like I don't like ramen," Okami said with a shrug, "but I definitely like BBQ better."

We passed by a couple of clan heads on the way to the village council meeting. Tsuki and I both bowed to them, but Okami didn't. A couple of them looked at Okami with shock or reproach, but Okami met their gazes without fear. He was fiercer than he had been before he had left, and he no longer had to fear looking anyone in the eyes.

"Uchiha Okami, you should know better than to show such disrespect," the new head of the Shimura Clan, Shimura Chikara-sama chided.

Okami offered, "If you think I haven't showed you the proper amount of respect, bring it up to the council. I'm sure my father will be willing to explain why I'm not longer showing difference to any of you."

That seemed to make Chikara angry, but Okami continued on, and Tsuki and I had to hurry to catch up to him.

"Was that really the best plan?" I inquired, "Even if you no longer have to show them difference, it's respectful."

"They have to know they can't walk all over me. I'm a sage, and that changes my standing in the village. I can't allow myself to be considered a pawn of the Uchiha or any other clan," Okami informed me.

Tsuki told him, "I think that was very brave."

Clan Council

Itachi

"The Uchiha heir has grown disrespectful," Shimura Chikara informed me, "He should be disciplined by your clan."

"My son is not yet officially the heir to the Uchiha Clan, and he now has standing as the Wolf Sage. The only members of the village he must respect are me and the Hokage," I offered.

Kiba added, "He's already pretty impressive as a sage."

"He was impressive before he was a sage," Shikamaru informed him tiredly.

"Is he still going to be a member of the ANBU?" Aburame Shino inquired, "I have heard rumors that he is being reunited with his old team as a chuunin."

Naruto said, "Team Kakashi is being reinstated. I've already worked out the new teams. We are going to have to have two teams of two genin and a jonin-sensei until graduation next week, but otherwise we would have had a team of one upon graduation, so everything is going to work out! I know that most of the time there's an Ino-Shika-Cho team, but the dynamic wasn't working out very well this time around. They've had four times the number of failed missions when compared to the original Team Kakashi. Uchiha Okami is going to be considered a chuunin until he passes the jonin exam, so that no one can claim he doesn't deserve the position. As he is the Wolf Sage and a former member of ANBU, I can't imagine he'll have any difficulty passing. Hatake Kakashi said that he'll probably have Uchiha Okami take the exam when it's next offered."

"Are Inojin and Chocho being kept together?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "For the time being at least."

Ino inquired, "Planning on getting Houndo on their team?"

"I wouldn't object to it," Kiba offered sheepishly, "Houndo could use some friends from other clans."

"We'll work out team assignments for the academy kids once we know who has actually passed," Naruto insisted.

Kiba stated, "Also, the Inuzuka Clan have had a young member break clan and village law. Tsume has apparently been mutilating wolf pups for years, which the Wolf Sage discovered. He said he'd leave the discipline to my clan, but I know I'm supposed to report that kind of thing." Well that was fast.

"The Inuzuka Clan has harsher laws about that kind of thing than the village," Naruto remarked, his brow furrowing as he thought it through, "As long as she receives counseling, then there isn't a problem with the mutilation of animals. Disrespecting a sage would normally mean she couldn't go on missions outside of the village for at least a year, but she's still in the academy."

"Her parents are planning on keeping her out of the academy until it's obvious that she's not going to harm pups again," Kiba told him.

Naruto said, "Then as long as she's out for at least a year, village law will have been upheld."

"Shouldn't the young sage be consulted?" Chikara pointed out, "He may have left the punishment to the Inuzuka Clan, but he may wish to know what that punishment will be."

"That is what's been done in the past where disrespecting sages has been an issue. It may also be possible that the wolves have their own codes for what is to be done in such instances," Neji reluctantly offered.

Naruto looked to one of his ANBU guard (Obito) and requested, "Can you go ask the Wolf Sage if he wishes to review the punishment of Inuzuka Tsume?"

Obito disappeared and came back with Okami second later. Okami bowed deeply to Naruto, gave a shorter bow to me, then waited for information.

"It has been decided that Inuzuka Tsume will be removed from the academy for at least a year," Naruto offered, "She will only be allowed to return as long as she proves she no longer desires to harm pups."

"I find no issue with this punishment. Pack code is only harsher in that she would be required to fend for herself during that year, and I see no reason why that needs to be enforced in this instance. If she performs the same act again, I will insist that pack code be honored," Okami offered.

Chikara asked, "Why show such leniency?"

"She's not even a ninja yet, and I doubt she has any source of income," Okami informed him, "I'm not needlessly cruel, and I don't believe that removing her form her clan's care will in any way discourage her from harming pups."

"What if the pups had attacked her first?" Chikara inquired.

Okami stated, "That is not what happened. My connection with wolves allows them to tell me things, and the pups were too young to fully grasp the concept of lying. They were grabbed during short periods of time when they were farther away from the rest of their pack, and my pack's tracker managed to trace the scent of the most recent attack to Tsume. I have full confidence in his findings."

"If this has been going on for years," Chikara queried, "why have you not brought this up before?"

"I wasn't capable of revealing my identity as the wolf sage while I was within ANBU, as that would have caused Danzo to harm Nara Shikadai or Hyuuga Tsuki or possibly attempt to hurt Hatake Kakashi. I still treated those pups that I found mutilated during that time, which is in the reports of my patrols. Also, these mutilations started before I became the Wolf Sage, when I was not yet capable of summoning a wolf to help me track down the attacker, and the local packs prefer not to be in the presence of any ninja they do not recognize as someone I am close with," Okami informed him.

Naruto cut in before Chikara could ask anything else, "Thank you, Okami. You may stay if you wish or return to whatever you were doing."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Okami replied, repeating his earlier bowing pattern, then leaving the room.

"You raised a good one, Itachi," Kiba remarked with a laugh, "I think that kid knows village law better than anyone."

Naruto inquired, "Any other business?"


	18. Loop Hole

Okami

"Gosh, that was fun," I remarked, sliding back into my seat next to Shikadai.

"Really?" Tsuki asked, "What was it like?"

I told her, "I'm not supposed to discuss details of a village meeting unless we're in a secure location. You're both heirs, so it would be fine otherwise, but we'd have to go somewhere less crowded."

"We ordered while you were gone, but the waitress agreed to wait until you got back to serve us," Shikadai offered.

She came over with a tray of meats that she quickly set down around the grill, along with a couple of fruits that took the grilling process well, like pineapples and apples. It appeared that neither Tsuki nor Shikadai had cared to order vegetables, which I really didn't mind at all.

A pair of Minders appeared just as we were pulling the meat off the grill.

"Is there something you need?" I asked, "I'm not doing anything wrong, nor do you really have jurisdiction over me anymore."

One of them stated, "It's an old offense you didn't pay for properly, Uchiha Okami."

"We were asked to review your file to ensure you are in good standing with the clan. One of the things you were disciplined for did not ensure you were punished fully," the second Minder explained.

"He hasn't done anything wrong," Tsuki claimed, "Just leave him alone."

I asked, "Which offense?"

"You received twenty-five lashes for failing to bow to the Nara heir and your jonin-sensei. It was not taken into account that your jonin-sensei is also the head of the Hatake Clan," the first Minder informed me.

"Unless the Hatake Clan Head has approached you about this directly," I remarked, "It's been six years, and as such any failure to punish me sufficiently is not applicable."

The second Minder stated, sounding a little too triumphant, "You were not available to resolve the issue. If you refuse to come with us, we will be capable of banishing you from the Uchiha Clan."

"Will the remaining twenty-five lashes I am owed be added on to those I have already received, or will I receive fifty lashes all at once?" I asked with a sigh.

"That is for the head Minder to decide," the first Minder told me, "You may ask him when we arrive."

I wiped my mouth and moved to stand.

Shikadai grabbed my arm and told me, "You don't have to do this."

"I do if I want to actually spend time with my family. Besides, I'm not going to let the council use this kind of technicality to boot me out anymore. You should probably tell sensei though," I offered, "As the clan head that I disrespected, he has every right to be present while I'm being disciplined." I offered him a wink, then shushined away to the Minder's HQ.

Kakashi

Shikadai and Tsuki ran towards me like their lives depended on it.

"Perhaps we should save this contest for later," Gai remarked.

I agreed, "That would probably be for the best."

"The Minders grabbed Okami," Shikadai told me quickly, "They said since you're a clan head, he didn't get enough lashes. He said you could be there. I don't know what he's planning."

I moved even faster than my students had to where I knew the Uchiha Minder's HQ was. He was probably hoping to make sure they didn't try to kill him or something.

"You can't be here," the Head Minder insisted as soon as I got into the room he was in with Okami, a whipping post, a healer, and a masked man with a whip.

I stated, "As the Clan Head that has been disrespected, I have a right to be here."

Okami passed me his contract with the wolves as well as his shirt. The scars on his back from the first time he was whipped were white now, but I knew the new ones would be as angry as the old ones.

"You will receive all fifty lashes," the Head Minder informed Okami, while I took a step back, "Part of this punishment is meant to be having them all at once. Consider the first set of lashes merely a reminder to honor clan heirs."

Okami was attached to the whipping post with a set of leather cuffs, and then a piece of hard leather was stuffed into his mouth, which gave me a glimpse of extra-long canines, and I watched as the whip descended again and again. Every ten, they would pause so that the healer could make sure Okami didn't pass out or die of blood loss. I gritted my teeth and watched.

When they were done, the healer made all of Okami's lashes scab over just enough to prevent him from bleeding out. Okami carefully pulled his shirt back on, turned slightly so that his ANBU tattoo was clearly visible, which made the healer pale and the whipper take an involuntary step back, especially given the killing intent that was coming off of Okami.

He took his scroll back and we both walked out of the room.

"Sorry about that. I needed someone to guard the scroll. My father told me that some of the clan wanted to have it destroyed, so I'd lose my contract, and I can't let that happen. I would have sent it back to the wolf boss, but there was no time," Okami explained.

I promised, "It's fine. We'll just be doing a D-rank tomorrow, so don't worry about aggravating those."

"Come on, sensei, you were in ANBU," Okami pointed out, "I've dealt with worse, although admittedly Tobu, our healer, was not happy about that. Gosh, I'll probably have to avoid my old team until these heal. Shikadai is going to feel all kinds of guilty again, and Tsuki might start crying at the 'unfairness of it all'."

"Most people don't bounce back from fifty lashes that quickly," I reminded him.

Okami informed me, "The first time was worse. The healer would heighten my pain receptors every ten. She didn't know how much training you had though when it came to healing, so she didn't dare this time, although it was also a different healer this time. If my father manages to make me clan head, the first thing I'm going to do is disband the Minders, no matter what the Clan Council says."

"You should get some rest," I recommended, "Remember, training is at seven tomorrow."

"That basically just means training starts at nine," Okami retorted as I disappeared.

Tsuki

Practice

"Uh…" I started, looking at the various jonin waiting at our normal spot, "Cousin Hema, what are you doing here?"

He told me, "Well, we heard through the grape vine that se Uchiha Minders decided to attack poor little Okami, so we figured we'd wish him well."

"He should be here in a few minutes with the rest of my team," I offered, still feeling a little uncertain, especially with the annoyed looks one of the jonin kept giving the other three.

"Don't worry about Tenzo," Hema told me conspiratorially, "He's just annoyed because he thinks we should be scouting out a new recruit, and Obito promised to find him one if we did this. Tenzo doesn't trust him, but he'd still rather make Obito do it."

Shikadai and Okami showed up together.

Okami asked, "Don't you all have better things to do than bother a chuunin team?"

"We heard you got hurt," Uchiha Obito offered with a shrug.

"Yeah, I got hurt," Okami agreed, "I also can't get healed, so there's no reason for you guys to be hanging around."

Uchiha Obito asked, sounding offended, "What kind of cousin would I be if I let you suffer in silence?"

"The kind that you were when we hadn't ever met, and I'd barely even heard of you," Okami suggested.

"You've got at least an hour or two before Kakashi shows up," Obito argued, "You could at least let Tobu make sure they didn't poison you."

Tobu, at least the one I assumed was Tobu, took a step forward, even as Okami let out a reluctant sigh. Okami carefully removed his shirt, and I almost gagged at the sight, but I restrained myself. I'd seen mutilation before, but this… this was my friend, my teammate, suffering because of a clan that was supposed to do everything it could to protect him.

Tobu's fingers started glowing green, and I saw some of the scabs heal a little more, although he had to be careful not to over heal them. Intellectually, I understood that. I understood why the Minders existed, not that I knew why they were so fixated on Okami. They were there to make sure that everyone followed Clan Law, and that was important. It didn't mean that I liked seeing my friend (and maybe somewhere out there something more?) in pain.

"How many did they give you?" Obito asked.

Okami said, "Fifty. Apparently, getting them all at once is part of the lesson, or it would have just been twenty-five again."

"Again?" Tenzo asked, "This has happened before?"

"Yeah, that's the only reason why it happened again. When I was six, I started to forget to bow to Shikadai and Kakashi-sensei every morning, and the Minders found out. I was given twenty-five lashes at the time because it's ten per clan heir and fifteen per sensei. They checked the record recently to see if they could nab me for something they missed and remembered that Kakashi-sensei is the head of the Hatake Clan, so I should have been given forty lashes for forgetting to bow to him. That meant a total of fifty," Okami explained.

Tobu inquired, "You put lotion in them?"

"Yeah," Okami agreed, "Well, my dad does it, since otherwise they'd break open while I was trying to put the lotion in them."

"Be careful," Tobu warned, and then the large man disappeared, while Okami slipped his shirt back on.

Hema offered, "Looks like that's my cue." He vanished too.

Tenzo said something to Okami, and then he and Obito disappeared too.

"Can't believe I spent almost two years with those guys," Okami remarked, "Anyway, what are we going to do until sensei shows up?"

"We could…" Shikadai started, but he fell silent when a familiar looking group ran up to up.

Tokumira asked, "Where's your precious sensei now, Tsuki?"

"Kakashi-sensei is always late," Okami provided, "It's part of him being Kakashi-sensei. Anyway, who are you?"

"How can you not have heard of me?" Tokumira demanded.

I offered, "Okami, this is Tokumira, Hana, and Tatakai. I worked with them while you were gone."

"So this must be Lee's team," Okami concluded, looking them over again, "Weird, I would have expected those training under a taijutsu master to be a little more physically impressive." He shrugged dismissively.

"No proper lady would bulk up that much," Hana insisted, flipping her hair back.

Okami asked, looking over at me, "Are you sure these kids are actually shinobi?"

"They're all chuunin," I informed him, "You may want to avoid insulting…"

"What do you mean 'actually shinobi'?" Tokumira demanded.

Okami offered, "It was a legitimate question. I haven't been keeping up with the who's who of people around our age. I've been a bit busy."

"What, with some stupid clan bull?" Tokumira retorted, "Do you think you're better than us because of some stupid eye trait?"

"No, I think I'm better than you for pretty much every other reason, but sure, what the heck, let's call the _sharingan_ my trump card, when I didn't even use it during my chuunin exams," Okami suggested, his voice filled with sarcasm.

Tatakai suggested, "Toku, maybe we should just go catch up with Lee-sensei."

"No, obviously this clan brat thinks he's better than me," Tokumira said, "and I'm going to prove him wrong."

"Hey, Shikadai, watch the scroll. I don't want to get any blood on it," Okami requested, passing off the contract to Shikadai, who had some difficulty hefting its weight. Okami sank immediately into an offensive stance, clearly waiting for Tokumira to make the first move.

She launched after him, and I bit my lip, hoping that Okami wasn't going to break open the scabs on his back.

Hana remarked, "At least the boys on your team are _cute_."

"I prefer the term strong," I replied, "Okami won't lose."

He was holding back against Tokumira, but that was to be expected. He always held back against kunoichi. I doubted that would change any time soon.

"He's angry," Shikadai remarked, watching as Okami started moving faster and striking harder.

"She's insulting his family," Tatakai informed us with a sigh, "She does it to all the clan heirs she meets, and it hasn't failed yet."

Shikadai stated, "If he's not careful, he'll kill her."

"What are you talking about? Tokumira was the top kunoichi in our class," Hana insisted.

Shikadai ignored that, stepping forward and flashing through hand signs as quickly as he could, freezing Okami and Tokumira in place. Okami had a kunai a breath away from Tokumira's throat, and it was obvious the slash would have killed. He hadn't even used ninjutsu, while Tokumira had tried everything she could.

Shikadai released Okami first. Okami took a few steps back, and he seemed to be forcing himself to breathe deeply.

Tokumira demanded, wheeling on Shikadai, "Why did you stop us?"

"He was about to do you permanent harm," Shikadai pointed out with a shrug, "He wouldn't normally do that."

"Sorry, my normal sparring partners are… a bit more skilled," Okami offered sheepishly. He took his scroll back from Shikadai and easily slung it back on.

Tatakai asked, his brow furrowing, "Is that the wolf contract?"

"Yeah," Okami agreed, "I'm Uchiha Okami, the Wolf Sage."

"You're a sage? Why didn't you use a summon?" Tokumira practically growled.

Okami told her, "It wasn't necessary. If I had fought you without any handicaps, Shikadai wouldn't have been fast enough to stop it."

"You weren't that tough," Tokumira insisted, "You were just lucky."

Suddenly, Okami was behind her, another kunai to her neck, but this time Shikadai didn't move to stop him.

"There's something very important you seemed to have missed out in learning. It's all well and good to bluster and brag, but sometimes a retreat is necessary. Some shinobi are going to be stronger than you, and not all of them are going to be as nice as I am. That's why you work with a jonin-sensei," Okami chided. His killing intent was washing over the training grounds, although it wasn't as strong as it had been the day before. It disappeared all at once, even as Okami disappeared again and reappeared next to Shikadai.

Lee-sensei came running onto the training grounds, a trail of dust coming up behind him. When he screeched to a halt, he dug a small trench with each of his feet.

Lee exclaimed, "Greetings! Tsuki, I am glad to see you are back with your friends on Team Kakashi. Team, we have a D-ranked mission we must report for immediately!" Hana groaned, Tatakai looked mildly annoyed, but Tokumira was still staring at Okami, the look on her face somewhere between fear and anger. She followed Lee-sensei, but she never turned her back on Okami.


	19. Hunt

_Flashback_

Okami

ANBU under Tenzo

I moved silently through the large house, tracking the chakra signature of the target I was supposed to eliminate. The rest of the team was on break, but Danzo wanted this assassination taken care of, and apparently the target was well known for escaping from even the tightest spots. Some of the training he had all but shoved down my throat had involved the heightened sense of smell White Fang had taught me to develop, so it would be simple for me to track the target if they tried to escape.

Surprisingly, she seemed to be waiting for me in the master bedroom.

"Danzo has been escalating up to this point," she remarked, "but now it's just one little Root again." She was looking right at me, even though I had done everything to mask my presence.

I made no reply, silently palming a pair of kunai.

"Either he has a very high opinion of you or he wants you dead," she concluded.

Instinctively, I activated the sharingan, which showed me she wasn't where I thought she'd been. I blocked her attack easily enough, then threw the pair of kunai to create some distance. She leaped out the window, and I bit my thumb as I followed her out, following the familiar procedure I hadn't been able to use since joining the new ANBU team.

My pack appeared as soon as I touched my blood coated fingers to the ground, and we started hunting the woman without hesitation, ignoring her false trail easily when her scent was still so strong.

She was going too fast for us to catch up to her, so I let my wolves use their chakra, figuring it would most likely help this situation.

Gin made the grass and trees start to cling to her, which made her trip, so Gerudo made her dip into the ground. Kuki moved faster than I could follow and knocked weapons out of the woman's hands. The pack swarmed for a moment, then moved back so that I could gain access to the woman. I wouldn't ask for them to kill for me. They moved apart quickly so as to secure the area and keep me safe while I finished the woman off.

She asked, "Do you even know why he wants me dead?"

I slit her throat, not caring for an explanation. It was too easy to put her body into one of the scrolls I carried as an ANBU, and then Gin came back.

He stated, "There are others like you nearby."

"I won't be able to summon you for a while," I offered, "It's to keep them safe."

Gin nodded, and then he disappeared along with the rest of the pack. I finished my job by tucking the scroll into the bottom of my small pack, then moving into the trees to figure out why there was another team of ANBU nearby.

"I swear he went this way," Hawk complained, obviously looking around for me.

Dog pointed out, "He follows orders." I winced. I was supposed to be on mandatory bedrest for chakra exertion, but that had only happened because I hadn't had time to find a pack since we'd gotten back to Konoha from Iwagakure, where we'd guarded a merchant train back to Konoha.

"Yeah," Hawk agreed, "Which means if one of our superiors gave him a mission, he wouldn't have hesitated to follow it, no matter what state he's in. Obito said his chakra looked strange just after he collapsed." I'd have to be more careful to avoid Obito-senpai's sharingan when I had a different affinity.

I slipped past Hawk and Dog, running straight back to Konoha and slipping into the window of my ANBU apartment. I was shocked to find Obito-senpai waiting for me.

"When Sakura tells you to get bed rest, you're supposed to get bedrest," Obito-senpai remarked.

I sat down next to him and stated, "I was given a mission."

"From what Sakura said, you shouldn't have even been able to get out of bed," he started, "Running on soldier pills…"

"I didn't take any, senpai. I know they can be dangerous if you take too many in a row," they were also dangerous if you took too many at a young age, "See for yourself, I've got almost all my chakra back already. Maybe Sakura-san misjudged," I offered lamely. I couldn't tell him after I'd barely kept my feet for Danzo to give me a mission, I'd stumbled into the woods until a wolf pack had given me back my nature affinity.

He looked at me, and his eye went red. He seemed shocked by what he saw. He claimed, "I could barely even see your chakra before, and it looked brownish."

"It's red and green. I'm surprised it doesn't look brownish all the time, senpai. Maybe it got a little more mixed when I was running low," I suggested.

One of the Root captains I severed under stormed in, and I removed my backpack and dug out the scroll, tossing it to the woman. She took it and left without another word.

Obito-senpai looked suspicious still.

"It wasn't that hard of a mission anyway," I told him, "I did finish it in less than half a day."

Obito-senpai ordered, "Be careful. You don't want the higher ups to think you can recover from chakra exhaustion in no time at all. We all need breaks sometimes." He stood up and left my apartment. I let out a short breath. If he had pushed, the truth would have come out, and then Shikadai and Tsuki would be dead.

Present

Okami

I was simmering a little still, angry that Tokumira had seen me as a faceless symbol of a clan, that I'd almost caused her permanent harm (or possibly death), and that Shikadai had to step in, when I should have restrained myself. Even if I wasn't ANBU anymore, it was still wrong to almost kill a village shinobi.

Deep breaths were helping, and the ongoing safety of my pack was helping even more. Tokumira hadn't threatened any of them, and she'd looked sort of scared when she ran off. Maybe I'd taught a fellow chuunin a valuable lesson about who she should and should not anger.

"What did she say to you?" Tsuki inquired.

I replied, "She kept saying stuff about how I wasn't actually strong, and that I was only a ninja because my clan made it happen. Logically, I know that she has no idea who I am or what I've gone through, but logic doesn't normally help abate anger anyway." My killing intent was back under wraps again at least.

"What did you do," Shikadai asked, "when you were feeling angry in ANBU?"

"There were plenty of outlets for my aggression. We went on tons of missions because Danzo didn't want me to have enough time to formulate an escape," I offered with a shrug.

Shikadai seemed like he was about to say something else, but then Kakashi-sensei arrived, which was _weird_.

Tsuki inquired, "What are you doing here?"

"I told you all to meet at seven," Kakashi-sensei told us.

"It's not even eight," Shikadai pointed out, "You're closer to being on time than you've been as long as we've known you."

Tsuki asked, "Did you miss a few little old ladies or cats or something?"

I activated my sharingan and immediately noticed something was wrong.

"That's not Kakashi-sensei," I stated, slipping into an offensive stance. Tsuki and Shikadai followed my lead. My killing intent started flaring more than it had before, as I was actively trying to attract the attention of some ANBU, since someone was impersonating a jonin.

"Oh darn," the fake Kakashi sensei said, still not taking any kind of stance or letting the henge drop, "How could you tell?"

I informed him, "Sensei is always late, and his chakra is white. Yours is yellow."

He started forming hand signs, and I didn't hesitate anymore, attacking the man that had attempted to impersonate our sensei for no clear reason. Surprisingly, it was my ANBU team, my old team, that appeared once again. They captured the guy, and Obito dispelled his henge.

Hema offered me a mock solute before they disappeared.

"We should find Kakashi-sensei and make sure he's okay," Shikadai suggested.

I said, "We should stay together too, just in case. I don't want to have to worry about either of you actually being henged spies of some kind." We moved quickly into the village, all of us letting our senses range out. It was surprisingly easy to find Kakashi-sensei, as he was in the middle of a game of rock, paper, scissors with Gai.

"Eternal Rival?" Gai asked, "Were you keeping your team waiting?"

"No longer than usual," Kakashi-sensei offered, and he was looking at us with carefully masked concern.

Tsuki told him, "A henged guy came to our practice field looking like you. We wanted to make sure he hadn't tied you up somewhere before he went there."

"You can report to the mission desk for our scroll," Kakashi-sensei said, "I'll catch up."

"Yes! We still have two more rounds," Gai agreed, obviously focused on the challenge again, proving that these two were not henged spies unless they were super committed to the bit, especially with the ridiculous posture both were holding.

We walked to the building the mission desk was in, only to find tons of teams in there, all of them shouting about something.

The chuunin working the desk was insistent, "This mission should be everyone's top priority. I've got orders from the Hokage that no one gets a mission until this one is taken."

"Excuse me," I said, drawing all attention to me, "What rank is this mission?"

"It's C-ranked mission. There have been a series of animal attacks on a nearby village, and the village has requested that a team be dispatched to take care of it," the chuunin explained.

I inquired, "Why does no one want to take it?"

"Those villagers are always claiming that they're under attack by something," one of the jonin informed me, "We're all tired of wild goose chases."

"I suppose we can take it, even if I was planning on letting my team do D-ranks for a while," Kakashi-sensei remarked, appearing next to me suddenly enough to shock the chuunin and the nearby genin.

 _Flashback_

While Okami was in ANBU

Shikadai

"Let's go get breakfast," Chocho suggested.

Inojin told her, "I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will get here soon."

"He's at least two hours late every day unless there's a time limit on the mission we're doing or something is wrong," I offered, "You have an hour and a half." I was sitting on the ground because Okami was gone and Tsuki was with another team, so there was no one around that I wanted to spar with or train with or work with at all. Maybe Ino-Shika-Cho was the team I was supposed to be with, that I would have been with if I hadn't graduated early, but it wasn't _my_ team.

"Maybe today will be different," Inojin countered. He hated being wrong, and he always got defensive about it.

Chocho said, "I'm going to go get breakfast." She walked away from the training grounds, and Inojin followed after her. I moved to lay down under a tree, figuring I could take a nap while I waited.

I woke up when Kakashi-sensei nudged me with his foot.

"Yo," he greeted, "Where are the others?"

"Chocho said she was going to get breakfast and Inojin followed her," I provided, using my hands to go from prone to my feet more quickly. I checked the time and found they'd been gone for an hour and forty-five minutes.

I told sensei with a heavy sigh, "They should have gotten back fifteen minutes ago."

We walked back into Konoha with no sense of urgency and quickly visited all of Chocho's favorite restaurants (she listed all of them every time Kakashi-sensei offered to buy us food, and memorizing things had always come easily to me). Unfortunately, the pair weren't at any of those restaurants. We started towards the Akimichi compound then, as Kakashi-sensei pointed out that they could have gone there to eat.

"I haven't seen Chocho since she left this morning," Choji-sama informed us, "Maybe check with Ino? Chocho loves her cooking."

The Yamanaka compound wasn't too far away, so we headed over.

"I haven't seen Inojin since he left this morning," Ino told us.

Kakashi-sensei was starting to look nervous. Obviously, he didn't want to lose more students.

We moved through the town systematically, walking up and down streets to try to figure out where the pair of genin could have gone. They'd failed the test when they'd taken it with me, and they were going to do it again with the only remaining genin on Tsuki's team, a girl named Hana that hadn't wanted to get dirty during the second test.

 _Finally_ , we found them being terrorized by a pair of retired kunoichi.

"You should have more respect!" one of the kunoichi commanded, "It takes a lot of work to get up to our age."

The other one demanded, "Who is your sensei? You ought to run laps around the village for insulting us like that."

"Excuse me, but have you been lecturing my students for the last half an hour?" Kakashi-sensei asked politely.

"Sorry if you've been looking for them, but this Yamanaka boy laughed when my friend tripped," the first woman informed him, a fire glinting in her eyes, "You should teach them to be more respectful!"

Kakashi-sensei promised, "I'm sure they'd be happy to help you both out with any errands you have today to make it up to you."

"What? Sensei, we're supposed to go on a mission outside the village today!" Inojin complained.

"It's important to have a good standing with your fellow villagers," Kakashi-sensei told him, "If you don't, no one will want to go on missions with you."

The pair pouted, but took the many bags from the old ladies, who both had wicked glints in their eyes. I was glad that I wasn't stuck with such a horrible mission.

Kakashi-sensei remarked, "That will keep them busy all day. We can go grab a short B-rank mission while they're gone."

"Alright," I agreed with a shrug.

Present

Tsuki

It didn't take us long to get to the village. Kakashi-sensei and Okami both seemed to be on high alert as soon as they arrived.

"Thank you for coming," the head man in the village offered, "There have been a large number of animal attacks, but they haven't been targeting the herd animals, as they have in the past. All of the attacks have been on the villagers."

Sensei asked, "Have you seen the animals?"

"None that have seen them have survived," the head man informed us, "They have huge claws and fangs, but we know nothing else about the creatures."

"Where have the attacks taken place?" Sensei inquired.

The head man pulled out a map and pointed out all the places that the attacks had taken place.

Sensei told him, "We'll go to the site of the most recent attack. There might be some evidence there of what perpetrated the attacks there."

"Thank you," the head man told us, "Anything you can do to stop these attacks would be appreciated."

We traveled quickly to the nearby clearing where the most recent attack had happened.

"I don't smell any blood," Okami remarked.

Kakashi-sensei nodded in agreement, even as we all searched the clearing for any signs that an attack had taken place. The genuine thankfulness of the head man made me think that he wasn't lying, but all evidence pointed to that.

Shikadai commented, "It hasn't rained in weeks, and this clearing is pristine."

"There's no reason to lie though," I pointed out, "They're paying us to be here."

"Which means that someone wants us to think that there's nothing going on here, when there's obviously something going on here," Okami pointed out, "I can't even smell my own blood here, and that's a little odd considering the scabs on my back, but it's not a genjutsu, so there's got to be some reason why this clearing smells so strongly normal."

We searched through the clearing again, examining everything carefully for any sign of any attacks. Suddenly, a tall, pale man was knocked into the clearing. Okami and Kakashi-sensei both tensed, Kakashi-sensei moving to the man, while Okami bit into his thumb, summoned his entire wolf pack, and leaped into the area the man had fallen out of, with Shikadai following after him. I chose to stay with Kakashi-sensei.

"Tsuki, this is one of the legendary Sannin, Orochimaru," Kakashi-sensei told me, even as he helped the man to his feet.

I bowed a little, but I was more focused on Okami's chakra, just in case he started emitting killing intent as a call for help.

Orochimaru informed sensei, "You should go after the rest of your team. They don't stand a chance of tracking down that monster, and if they do, they'll only get themselves killed."

"Okami will keep them hidden," Kakashi-sensei replied with confidence, "What kind of monster are we looking at? Why didn't you upgrade the difficulty of the mission?"

"I didn't realize there was a mission still, especially since the monster is good at cleaning up after itself. It has nature chakra, so it returns its killing grounds to the way they were before. I was trying to study it when it suddenly switched from large prey animals and livestock to humans. It's a formidable opponent," Orochimaru explained.

Shikadai reappeared and said, "Okami and his pack are still trying to hunt that creature down. It's faster than them, but they out number it. Okami says that if we could join in, we might be able to corner the creature."

"It's extremely dangerous," Orochimaru told us, "It would be better if you returned to the village and sent a team of ANBU."

"We'll be fine," Kakashi-sensei insisted, sounding lazy, but there was a challenge in his eye that Orochimaru apparently couldn't ignore. We all followed Kakashi-sensei as he led the way towards Okami's chakra signature.

Okami reported, even as we kept moving, "Gin is keeping up with it best, but that's just because his nature chakra cancel's out the creature's. I'd be up there too if I could ever figure out how to work mine. Gurudo is trying to slow it down whenever it touches the ground, but it's mostly sticking to the trees. Kuki is on the creature's flank, trying to push it towards a nearby mountain, so that Gurudo can trap it a little better. Tsurara is higher up that mountain, building up an avalanche to try catch the creature if it flees in that direction. Midori and Sabaku are going to keep it from escaping to either side of the mountain, but it the creature can still run back towards us. There's a river fairly close to us, but I don't know how helpful that will be. Auka isn't here, and I can't do anything with water at the moment."

"Okami, Tsuki, you're rear guard. Orochimaru, you and I will keep the creature back. Shikadai, stay safe and do whatever it takes to grab the creature's shadow," Kakashi-sensei ordered.

We all nodded quickly, even as we pushed out into a clearing. Gin appeared beside Okami, and I noticed that the trees behind us started forming an impassible barricade. The forest to one side appeared to be on fire, while on the other side there was a wall of sand that was shifting constantly. I could see high on the mountain, snow was rolling, the way it would in an avalanche, but it wasn't advancing past a certain point, as if it was being kept at bay. The rocky part of the mountain was rising up over and over to try to trap the gigantic creature we came upon.

I squeaked, "Isn't that a tailed beast?"

"No," Okami informed me, "There isn't a lion among the tailed beasts." ( _Fun fact, the initial plan was to make it some kind of bird._ )

The huge creature seemed possessed as it dove at sensei and Orochimaru. The wolves weren't helping to keep it back, as much as they were just insistently keeping it in the area. Shikadai tried to grab the strange, huge creature's shadow, but it seemed to have a sixth sense for whenever Shikadai got anywhere close to it.

I asked, "What is that thing?"

"Don't know," Okami replied, "It seems really dangerous though." He then proceeded to tackle me out of the way of a tree the creature managed to throw in our direction. I had been moving out of the way, but Okami tackling me kept the tree from hitting me at all.

I looked up at him, feeling the familiar admiration I'd always felt towards him. He was amazing, strong, intelligent, and fast. I just wished he'd see me as something other than another member of his pack.

He shot back to his feet, pulling me up with him, and then he pulled out a pair of kunai, fully prepared to defy sensei's orders if it meant protecting his pack.

"Shikadai," Okami called out, "Duck!" I was surprised to see Okami throw one of his kunai towards the beast. Shikadai ducked down, even as he formed a rapid series of hand signs. There was a wire attached to the kunai, and that very think wire somehow managed to cast a shadow, even as it barely missed what I could only assume was the beast's head.

Shikadai grabbed the creature's shadow, and it froze in place, even as Okami dispelled his wolf pack once more.

The creature snarled and roared. It seemed to be all Shikadai could do to keep it in place.

Kakashi-sensei and Orochimaru quickly started to tie up the creature, so that Shikadai didn't have to struggle to keep it in place. Okami put a hand on Shikadai's shoulder, and I could sense the chakra being exchanged between the two of them.

Okami asked, "How long do you think you can hold it?"

"I don't know," Shikadai replied, "It's bigger than anything I've tried to hold in place before, and it's trying to move in ways that I can't, which makes it all the harder to keep it in place."

"What do you think it is?" I inquired, even as I activated my byakugan to try to get a better idea of what the creature was. I gasped and rushed forward when I realized what I was looking at. I activated my gentle fist and one well-placed blow was all it took for the creature to stop being a creature and start being a small girl again.

The girl was exhausted, and she passed out before she could even attempt to get her feet under her. Orochimaru put a few seals on her to keep her from using her chakra, and then Kakashi-sensei lifted the girl up and carried her back towards the village she had been attacking.

The headman gasped and asked, "Was Fey being held by that monster all this time?"

"No," Kakashi-sensei replied, "She was the monster."

"That's impossible. Fey wouldn't hurt a fly," the headman insisted adamantly.

Orochimaru informed him, "We're going to take the girl back to our village to run a few tests on her. Does she have any parents?"

"No," the headman reluctantly informed us, "Her mother died just as she arrived in our village when Fey was a baby. Fey was her last word, so we assumed that was her baby's name. The whole village has been doing its best to raise her ever since then."

"If we find a way to make sure she doesn't turn into that monster again, we'll bring her back," Kakashi-sensei offered.

The headman said, "Thank you for stopping her."

"Just be sure that payment is delivered before the first of next month," Kakashi-sensei told him, "Otherwise you might have some much meaner ninja on your doorstep." He waved passively, and then the five of us headed back towards the village. We passed the girl off every once in a while to make certain that none of us were too exerted.

Okami brought us to a halt in a clearing within a mile of the village, while it was his turn to carry Fey.

"What is it?" Kakashi-sensei asked.

Okami told him, "She's waking up."


	20. Clan

Okami

I gently set the girl on the ground, even as she blearily opened her eyes. The second she saw me, she flinched violently and moved as fast as she could to try to get away. I let enough of my killing intent radiate to keep her where she was. Shikadai and I had been left with Orochimaru to guard her, while Kakashi-sensei and Tsuki ran ahead to get a doctor and someone from T&I.

"Who are you?" she asked, "Where am I? Where's Mai-san?"

"Okami, the forest, not here," I listed off easily enough. There was no reason to hide the truth from her after all.

She reluctantly told me, "I'm from the Land of Fire. I live in a little village called Uzu. How far are we from those places?"

"You're in the land of fire. I'd say you're about a day's walk from Uzu," I offered calmly.

Shikadai carefully ensured that he could grab her shadow in seconds if he needed to. I'd help him if it came to that, but it didn't seem like this girl was particularly violent.

"Thank you for finding me, shinobi-san," Fey said, "I should probably start walking back to my village." She moved to stand.

I informed her, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you go back there, you'll be put on trial for all the people you killed."

"What are you talking about?" Fey demanded.

"The people you killed," I replied, speaking like she was stupid, mostly to test and see if anger would make her turn back into that monster, "There were quite a few of them. Six from what the head of your village told us. If we hadn't stopped you, you might have killed them all."

Fey started sobbing.

I added quickly, mostly just hoping to stop the tears before I was forced to attempt to comfort her, "Of course, if we can figure out a way to keep you from turning into that creature, then you could probably go back there without any of them blaming you for the deaths."

She dove forward suddenly, but rather than attacking, she latched onto me with all her might.

There was a panicky instant where I just looked at Shikadai with my eyes wide, not remembering any training that could possibly help me get through this. It took me too long to very carefully wrap my arms around the girl and start to rub her back. She was probably close to me in age, which just made it all the more awkward. I hadn't seen someone my age cry ever. Shinobi did their best to hide all their emotions, and even normal villagers seemed to stop crying in public well before they became teenagers.

Kakashi-sensei, Tsuki, a rather familiar looking team of ANBU, and a group of researchers came upon us before Fey could pull herself together. Then again, it didn't really seem like she was making any attempts to pull herself together.

Hema was obviously fighting back laughter. Well, perhaps not obviously, but I could tell he was doing it, which was annoying.

I told the sobbing girl, "Fey, there are people here that want to examine you, so they can try to figure out the creature."

"O-o-okay," Fey sniveled, and she pulled away from me very slowly, even as she tried to wipe away her tears.

I looked disgustedly at the snot and tears that she had left on my chuunin vest. I'd probably run straight back to the village and change. I moved to stand.

Fey asked, her eyes starting to water again already, "You're going to stay with me, right?" Everyone seemed like they were about to laugh at the panic that filled every fiber of my being. I didn't want to have to deal with an overly emotional girl for any length of time.

"Of course he'll stay with you," Kakashi-sensei agreed in my stead, and I shot him a glare, "Okami could never refuse a request like that."

"Really?" Fey inquired, looking up at me.

I acquiesced without another word, although I glared at sensei whenever Fey wasn't looking.

The researchers ran as many tests as they could in the field, then had _me_ carry Fey around the village wall so that I could get her into the hospital, while going through as little of the actual village as was physically possible. Of course, I carried her in my arms rather than on my back, since carrying her on my back sounded like it was one of the circles of hell at that moment. I was ordered to take her to the area where the ANBU received treatment, since that was where there were the most protections for those treating her.

No matter how hard I tried to escape from the process, I wasn't allowed to get more than three feet from Fey at any given moment, as apparently she'd decided that I was the only trust worthy person she'd met. Shikadai and Tsuki hung around on the periphery. Tsuki had a weird, almost angry look in her eye, whereas Shikadai seemed to mostly just want to laugh at my attempts to leave.

Fey even fell asleep with a tight grip on my arm.

Obito-senpai, or more correctly Mouse-senpai, remarked, "She is a cute one."

I glared at him, and I could tell he was _smirking_ under his mask.

"Okami, are you hurt?" Sakura-san asked as she finished drawing blood from Fey for the umpteenth time, "I could swear that someone in here is bleeding."

"I don't think I'm bleeding, although I am relatively hurt. It's not something I'm allowed to get healed," I offered.

Sakura-san insisted, "Then you should get some rest." She then proceeded to shoo everyone out of the room to speculate on and guard Fey from outside of the room. I wondered how on earth I was expected to sleep with someone I didn't trust laying on top of me, especially if there was no one around to watch her.

Shikadai slipped silently into the room.

"Hey," he greeted, "I'll keep an eye on her. Just go to sleep."

"Thanks," I replied, doing my best to attempt to relax.

Sasuke

I relieved Tenzo's team from watching the girl around midnight.

Obito suggested, "You might want a camera."

I ignored the suggestion and looked into the hospital room. Shikadai, Okami, and the girl were all on a hospital bed. The girl was clinging desperately to Okami's arm, while Okami was unconsciously trying to stay away from her. Shikadai was sitting up mostly, with his head leaning against the wall. Okami's head was in his lap, and it seemed the Nara had passed out with his hand tangled in Okami's hair.

"They were trying to trade off watch shifts at first," Sakura informed me, "I decided they both deserved some uninterrupted rest. They should wake up a couple of hours after dawn. We'll continue testing on Fey then."

If I hadn't been wearing a mask, she would have seen me smile a little.

Shikadai

I woke up very slowly, and realized I'd fallen asleep while I was meant to be keeping an eye on Fey and generally keeping Okami safe. Okami was still asleep, but he probably wouldn't be for much longer.

Fey seemed to be fine. She was snoring lightly, and she still had a tight grip on Okami's arm. Tsuki seemed more than a little jealous of the fact that Okami was letting Fey keep him close, but I was fairly certain that Okami was only allowing it because he had no idea how to act around civilians. If Tsuki even tried, he'd probably just assume she was attacking him.

Okami woke up and again attempted to pry Fey's fingers off his arm. He was obviously trying to restrain himself from hurting her, which was the only reason he hadn't successfully broken away from her yet.

Fey started to wake up, and Okami gave up on his efforts, even as he looked up at me with clear annoyance in his eyes, which I knew was directed at his inability to get away from the girl.

"Training," I pointed out.

Okami agreed, "Should work."

"What should work?" Fey asked groggily, "Did the doctors figure something out?"

"I don't think so, Fey. I need to get going though. If I don't train, then I could get killed on my next mission," Okami explained.

Fey woke right up then, and it seemed she was about to start sobbing again.

"I'll probably be back later," Okami quickly said, obviously attempting to abate the crying before it started, "but I can't just stop working. Life doesn't just stop, and I'm sure my father would like to see me face."

Fey reluctantly agreed, "Okay."

Okami let out a breath, then got off the bed, and I followed after him.

"You will come back though. Once you're done with training and seeing your parents, right?" Fey asked.

"I will," Okami told her, and I couldn't tell if he was lying or not, "I'll come back."

We both left the room.

Okami complained, even as we escaped through a nearby window, "That was awful."

"Are you going to go back?" I asked.

"I'll probably have to," Okami remarked, "It's not like she's just going to forget about me. She'll probably refuse tests until I come back, if she _really_ wants me to be there. I'd really prefer it if she didn't think of that though. I don't like to be restrained." He led the way to his home, and then he had me help him cook breakfast.

We didn't talk much, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Even if he had been gone for six years, Okami hadn't changed that much. It wasn't overly difficult to anticipate what he was going to do at any given moment.

I inquired, "Are you up to sparring?"

"Yeah," Okami agreed, "Just taijutsu. I'd rather not get frozen in place today."

I nodded in agreement.

We cleaned up and headed out to the training grounds our team had always used, then started attacking one another, although neither of us were trying very hard to win. We were more interested in getting to know the new actions and reactions we'd grown used to.

Tsuki showed up with bentos a little before lunch time, but she waited for Okami to get me pinned for the umpteenth time before she stepped in.

"I brought lunch," she offered with a small smile.

Okami helped me up, but he pulled away, while I walked over to get one of the bentos. It was obvious he was forcing himself to calm down and refocus himself. Finally, he wandered over to us, his hands buried in his pockets, and he knelt and offered a quiet, humble, "Thanks."

"For what?" Tsuki inquired, "I always bring the food when you forget." She was right. She was the unspoken caretaker of our team. It was why she'd gone through training as a medic, and it was why I often forgot that she was as tough as or tougher than any other member of our generation of shinobi. Even if it had been years, we were all doing our best to settle into our old dynamic.

"For trying to get things back to the way they used to be," Okami told us.

Tsuki asked, "What else would we do?"

I knew the answer to that question, but I didn't say anything. Okami had expected to come back and find us settled into new teams. He'd probably hoped we'd just forget about him, since that would have made us happier. It just hadn't been possible. We'd never considered him to be truly dead. Okami was always going to come back, was always going to be found, even if we'd assumed it would be from a lot farther away. There was no reason to move on, not when he was coming home.

 _Flashback_

Okami in ANBU

Tsuki

"Hyuuga," Tokumira greeted disdainfully.

I didn't say anything in reply, knowing she'd use any excuse to be insulted by what I had to say. She never held back even a little when we sparred, and that could be exhausting with how hard Lee-sensei had us work. Sometimes, it felt like she was trying to kill me, even though the only thing I had really done wrong in her book was be born with the name Hyuuga. I fought hard to make certain I earned everything I had though, and sometimes a sparring session was supposed to be more relaxed than she ever made it.

We just stood in silence for about half a minute, and I could tell Tokumira was thinking through what to say so that I seemed like the bad guy when we started sparring. Hana and Tatakai walked up before Tokumira could even try to start something.

Hana asked, "Do either of _you_ know what we're doing today?"

"No," Tokumira told her, "I don't."

"Lee-sensei didn't tell us," I provided with a shrug.

Hana complained, "How am I supposed to know what to wear to training, when he doesn't tell us what we're doing?"

I enjoyed imagining Okami's reaction to such a statement. He'd never have let one of his teammates hold him back by refusing to get dirty. He'd probably just cover her in mud at every opportunity. I didn't have that kind of freedom though. The Hyuuga heir had to be regal and an example to other shinobi.

Lee-sensei arrived perfectly on time for training, the way he did every day. It just reminded me of how different this team was from my own.

"Alright," Lee-sensei told us, "Today, we're going to have a special guest, who's going to help you learn chakra control."

"But we already learned tree walking," Tokumira complained.

Lee-sensei assured her, "There's more to chakra control than just walking up a tree trunk."

"This one better not get us dirty," Hana threatened, "I just got this new training uniform after the last one was _ruined_ by that mission to catch the demon cat." Okami was actively friends with the demon cat. Apparently, he fed it when it infrequently visited his backyard.

Lee-sensei made no reply as he led us into the woods to a secluded area by the river. There was an old man with grey-white hair waiting for us there. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place him.

"Hello," the man greeted with a smile, "I'm Jiraiya the Toad Sage. Your sensei asked me to teach you a new chakra control exercise."

I bowed quickly, as I immediately recognized the name.

"It's an honor to have you teach us, Jiraiya-sama," I told him.

He laughed and quickly told me, "There's no need for the honorific."

"Are you a clan head or something?" Tokumira demanded, "I'm going to be stronger than _all_ the clan heads."

"That would be quite impressive, but no. I'm not the head of any clan. I'm surprised you haven't heard of me. Perhaps you should have paid more attention in your classes in the academy," Jiraiya remarked, scowling a little.

Tatakai informed Tokumira, "Jiraiya is one of the Legendary Sannin."

"If he's a sannin," Tokumira retorted, "Then I'm an Uchiha."

"I hope you get your sharingan soon," I offered.

Tokumira tackled me then, and she would have pushed us both into the water if I had been any slower in channeling my chakra. As it was, the parts of her that weren't supported by me were sinking.

I shoved her off of me with the aid of more chakra, and she went flying back onto the bank, while I quickly retreated towards the middle of the river, so I'd be too far away for her to attack me again.

Jiraiya remarked, "It seems one of you have already mastered today's technique. Water walking can be quite difficult, although the Hyuuga are well known for their impressive chakra control."

I blushed slightly at the praise to my clan.

"Can't be that hard," Tokumira insisted, walking up to the water and stepping forward. She made it three steps before she collapsed into the water.

"I'm not doing that," Hana insisted, "I _refuse_ to get wet."

I pointed out, "If you have good enough chakra control, you can keep your shoes from getting wet when you're surrounded by puddles."

Reluctantly, Hana stepped onto the water. She made it a couple more steps before she started to sink into the water, and she immediately went back to the shore. She removed her shoes and then continue to attempt to walk on water.

Tokumira was trying it again, and Tatakai started his own attempts too. It seemed all of them were trying to reach me, even though the patch of water I was on was no easier to stand on than any other patch of water. This was just something I'd learned before I'd been taught the Gentle Fist. I'd been taught tree walking before Okami or Shikadai had as well, but Shikadai had caught on quickly, and Okami's only problem was frustration.

Hana got the hang of it first, and she stood by me once she'd figured it out.

"I suppose this lesson was worth it," Hana admitted reluctantly, probably just happy she'd have a way to protect her shoes.

Tokumira was still getting soaked every time she took three steps, while Tatakai was managing alright until he attempted to stand still.

"You're all doing very well," Jiraiya informed us, "It might take some of you a few days of practice to really get the hang of it. For now, let's break for lunch."

Lee-sensei agreed, "Lunch will be a great reward for all of your Youthful Determination."

Hana and I walked back to the shore, and Tatakai rejoined us quickly, but Tokumira was still determinedly attempting to march out onto the water. She seemed openly upset that she couldn't manage to do as well as I had, when I'd been training in this kind of chakra control since the moment I proved able to use chakra at all.

"Come on, Mira," Hana insisted impatiently.

Tokumira glared, but reluctantly left her attempts and followed the rest of us back towards Konoha.

"How did you do that?" Tokumira demanded, glaring down at me, "There's got to be some trick to it or something."

I told her, "There's no trick to it. I've been training in chakra control since I first showed that I could use chakra. Otherwise I couldn't use Gentle Fist or the Byakugan. Both require the user to be adept at chakra control, otherwise they would be impossible to maintain for any length of time."

"So it's because you're a clan brat," Tokumira concluded, growing angry, stopping me by grabbing my arm and glaring down at me. She was starting to radiate killing intent strongly, and if I hadn't fought along side Kakashi-sensei, I might have fallen to my knees.

A pair of ANBU appeared suddenly, one in a Mouse mask and one in a Bunny mask. Before they could do anything though, Tokumira had a kunai in her hand and was moving to attack me.

Mouse mask moved faster than I could follow, blocking her strike with his own kunai, while Bunny mask pulled me away from her, putting themselves between me and the source of danger.

Mouse mask warned, "It's a crime to spar outside of an official training ground, and you can be declared a missing nin if you're attempting to kill a fellow shinobi, especially a clan heir."

Lee-sensei quickly intervened, "I will discipline my student for this Youthful mistake as quickly as possible, ANBU-san. Please, continue on your business."

The pair of ANBU disappeared quickly, and I saw Lee-sensei let out a small puff of air.

"Tokumira, why would you attack Tsuki?" Lee-sensei inquired, obviously wanting to understand what had happened from her perspective.

"It's not fair," Tokumira told him quietly, "Clan nin have all the advantages."

Jiraya informed her, "Clan nin have just as many disadvantages as they have advantages." It sounded to me like he was speaking from experience.

Tokumira scoffed something under her breath, even as she charged forward.

"Sensei, can I be excused?" I requested.

"Of course, Tsuki," Lee-sensei agreed, "Do not worry though, Tokumira will not attack you again. I will ensure she understands how important you are to our team!" He gave me a thumbs up, and I forced a smile on my face. Then I turned and left.


	21. Disbelief

**Sorry, but this is the last chapter I've got written up. Updates from now on will come whenever I happen to finish writing enough for there to be a chapter, although I'll probably still save them for Thursdays. I've been having a hard time getting inspiration for this story lately. My thanks to all of you; you've been better than expected considering my past experiences with this particular media platform. Suggestions are welcome. Thanks to those of you that have left reviews. For the person who asked where Hinata is, I wrote a throw away line that I later took out about Tsuki being named for her dead aunt, so if old stuff is true, she's dead. If I change my mind later, she might not be dead. I clearly wanted you to slowly build this world, since I never explicitly told you all the parameters. See you when I see you.**

Present

Okami

We went back to training after lunch, although Tsuki was still confused by what I'd said, and Shikadai seemed unwilling to help me explain. All of us took turns sparring against each other, although I tried not to over exert myself, since I didn't want to make my back take any longer to heal than it had to. I could feel the pull of the stiffening scabs, and I quietly cursed myself for forgetting to apply lotion to them.

Sensei showed up a few hours after lunch, although he leaned against a tree with one of those silly orange books he was always carrying around. He didn't say anything to any of us, but we were all aware he was there, and he'd step in if he saw us doing anything incorrectly.

Training was interrupted by Tsuki's old teammate coming onto the field again, while it was Shikadai and Tsuki's turn to fight each other.

I kept my posture carefully relaxed, although I could have a pair of kunai in my hands in seconds if the need arose.

"Uchiha," she accused, "I know how you won last time, and I'm not going to let it happen again."

Tsuki pulled away from her bout with Shikadai, glared at Tokumira, and informed the other girl, "He beat you because he's just better than you. He trained harder and practiced more, so he's stronger and faster and _better_ than you in every way. It's not some trick!"

"Are you saying he's just naturally better than me?" Tatakai demanded.

"There's a decent possibility of that," I offered, "Although it's more likely that I've just trained longer and harder since a younger age to get to the level I now have. If being a clan brat makes me a better ninja, it's only because I could anticipate at a younger age what I would be for the rest of my life."

Tokumira didn't even bother talking to me after that. She just launched forward, not holding back even a little, while I was carefully holding myself back, not wanting to have to be restrained again. I brought her down more quickly this time, glad that I'd been able to ignore her insults this time around.

Tokumira asked, sounding defeated, "Why do you hold back?"

"Killing village shinobi is wrong," I offered, even as I let her up. I didn't help her up though, especially since I had every reason to suspect she'd attack me again.

Sensei stepped in before she could.

"Listen, I understand what you're trying to do here, and it's commendable," he offered, pulling Tokumira to her feet, "However, if you continue attacking Okami, eventually, he's going to accidentally kill you."

I complained, "I thought I restrained myself very well."

"She would have gotten you angry eventually," Shikadai pointed out.

"He can't be that strong," Tokumira claimed, "Maybe he beat me a couple of times, but I'll beat him eventually."

Sensei said, "Strong as you may be, you're not strong enough to beat him yet. You may never be strong enough to beat him, but that doesn't mean he's better than you in every way. Okami has many strengths and many weaknesses, just as you do, and if you take your time to learn what those are, you can beat him without being stronger than him."

Tokumira considered his words carefully, bowed, then disappeared.

"You do realize that you just earned me another stalker to add to the pair of minders that are still trying to find fault with my actions?" I pointed out.

"He also saved you a lot of pointless fights," Shikadai argued, "and likely made her a better ninja, when she would have otherwise become a missing nin."

I asked, "Why does that girl hate clan nin so much for anyway?"

"I don't know. Tatakai said something about one of your cousins doing something to her at one point, but I wasn't really paying that much attention, since I was busy hunting down the demon cat," Tsuki told me ( _I have a lot of characters whose names start with T… It's kind of odd, but I suppose it's not the worst think to ever happen_.)

A medic nin came running onto the field, and I let out a long sigh, my shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Okami-san," the medic nin told me, "Fey has refused to continue testing until you return."

Shikadai inquired, "Do you want us to come with you?"

"If you want to, you can. Maybe bring me some dinner that isn't the nutritious garbage the hospital has," I requested, even as I trudged slowly towards the hospital, really wishing that the girl hadn't thought of this tactic.

The medic nin rushed me along as best he could, and I got to Fey's room fairly quickly once I was within the hospital, since I didn't want any of the medics or doctors to question me about the bruises I had from training.

Fey smiled brightly as soon as she saw me, and I did my best to match the expression, although it was likely more of a baring-of-the-teeth then an actual smile.

She asked, "How was your training?"

"It was pretty good," I told her, "I sparred with my team, and I had a short bout with a kunoichi from another team. How are the tests?"

"The scary white man says that he should have a way to keep me from changing in a couple of days. My village sent a letter to tell me that Mai-san is on her way here. She's going to stay with me until I can go home," Fey explained.

I inquired, "Who is Mai-san?"

"She's my adoptive mom," Fey told me, "I think… I think my mom was like me, and she could feel herself turning into a beast shortly after I was born, so she left me with the villagers to keep me safe. Mai-san took me in, and she's raised me all my life. What about you? What's your family like?"

"Mostly it's just me and my dad, but I also spend time with my uncle and my grandparents from time to time," I explained.

Fey asked, "What about your mom?"

"I've never known her," I said, "It's always just been me and my dad."

"Then your dad is like my Mai-san," Fey concluded.

I chose not to correct her, as explaining my bastard heritage was something that had only ever earned me ridicule.

Orochimaru came in and inquired, "Are you prepared to resume testing now?" He sounded annoyed, but that was to be expected. Fey refusing to have tests done without my presence was an inconvenience for everyone involved. Still, alone in unfamiliar territory, the first person to show you any kindness was easy to latch onto.

Orochimaru conducted all kinds of tests on Fey, some of which I couldn't even begin to understand the purpose of. Fey never complained, even when the tests caused her mild pain. She'd just look at me and smile, as if my being there made all the pain go away.

"What do you smell?" Orochimaru asked, even as he continued writing in a notebook.

"I smell…" Fey trailed off, obviously focusing hard, "Disinfectant, sweat, chemicals, medicine, and… fresh blood." She looked at me, a sharp frown on her face.

Orochimaru looked at me expectantly.

I assured them both, "It's just from my thumb. The scab reopens when I train to hard, but I use it for my summons, so there's no point in letting it heal."

"What are summons?" Fey inquired. Orochimaru looked suspicious.

"Summons are sentient animals that ninja can call upon for aid," I explained, "My summons actually helped us contain your animal form, so that you couldn't escape us."

Sakura-san interrupted then and said, "Okami, I just got a message that you're supposed to go home for dinner."

"I guess I'll be okay," Fey offered.

I nodded and left quickly, before Fey could change her mind.

"I thought you'd want to get out of the hospital," dad offered as soon as I got home, "Besides, it's been a long time since you've gotten to eat dinner at home."

I agreed, "The closest thing I've had to a dinner at home was when Obito-senpai insisted we eat together, and I had to slip the food underneath my mask."

"You can set the table. Sasuke will be joining us," Dad told me.

I worked efficiently to do just that, wondering a little why Uncle Sasuke was gracing us with his presence. In the past, he'd mostly only visited to avoid the hospital or on special occasions. Then again, this was kind of a special occasion. It would be my first meal with my father consumed in my own home since I'd gotten back, and Uncle Sasuke was apparently taking over leadership of the ANBU. That seemed like plenty to celebrate to me, at the very least.

 _Flashback_

ANBU Under Tenzo

"Alright," the Hokage said, and if anyone else had been in the room, they likely would have assumed he was talking to himself, "I've got a meeting with the Clan Council now."

Mouse and I stealthily followed as he moved from one room to the other with a stack of papers and a pen.

The clan heads seemed to all be present already, and I was slightly surprised to see both Fugaku-sama and my father.

"The Uchiha Clan has business to take care of before we really get going," the Hokage said once he'd settled into his seat.

Fugaku-sama said, "I am turning over my duties on the Clan Council to my eldest son, Itachi. While I will still hold a leadership role in the Uchiha Clan for the time being, I will be turning more and more of my duties over to him." He stood up and, very symbolically, pulled out the seat for Itachi, who sat down in it. With that, Fugaku-sama left.

"Alright," the Hokage concluded, "Welcome, Itachi. Would you like to declare...?" He trailed off awkwardly, but it seemed everyone present knew how that sentence would end.

"At present, in the case of my untimely death, my seat here will be turned over to my younger brother, Sasuke," my father informed him, but it seemed like it was difficult for my father to keep emotion from clouding his face.

The Hokage cleared his throat and asked, "What's the next order of business?"


	22. Killer

**A/N: I cannot promise regular updates, but it's been a little while, and I've at least written this. I might see you next week. I might not. Kind of depends on how my life is going. Enjoy!**

Present

Tsuki

I finished my evening solo training and turned to head back to Hyuuga compound. Tokumira was directly in my path, and I was guessing she was waiting for me.

"Hyuuga, how did he get to be so strong?" Tokumira demanded.

"Okami isn't like me," I told her, "From the day he was born, the Uchiha have wanted him gone. Imagine being told all your life that you weren't good enough by those that were supposed to love and respect you. Then there are people like you that insist that he's been given everything he could ever ask for. There are also people like me, who assumed all too long that being an Uchiha is what made him strong. You and I can train every day to try to get to his level, but we won't make it there until we're forced to the way he was."

Tokumira suggested, sounding more nervous than I'd ever heard, "Come with me?" I knew she had probably wanted it to be a powerful statement, and I watched her flinch at the sound of her own voice. She moved away quickly enough that it took me a few seconds of chakra infused running to catch up.

We were at a small house, near the edge of the village proper. I followed Tokumira inside slowly.

"There you are, Mira, I hope you had a good day of training," a young, pregnant woman offered with a soft smile. She was just putting dinner on the table for about a dozen younger kids. I could tell they weren't all hers, but it was hard to figure out which ones were and which ones weren't.

"I mostly did," Tokumira said, "I fought Okami-san and lost again."

The young woman walked over to Tokumira and flicked her nose. Standing next to each other, I could clearly tell that they were sisters.

The young woman asked, "Are you going to introduce me to the Hyuuga-san, or are you just going to let her speculate about who I am?"

"Tsuki, this is my older sister Suzume. Suzume, my former teammate, Tsuki," Tokumira offered.

"It's very nice to meet you," I offered, "You have a lovely home."

Suzume said, "It can be hard to keep the place clean with all these kids around. Mira, you should go upstairs and say hi to Hibana-sama. She's been having a pretty good day so far. She might even remember you. I'll keep a plate warm for you when you're ready."

"Come on," Tokumira told me, leading me through the house and upstairs to the last door in the long hallway we came to.

"Mira?" an old woman sitting up in the bed we found there asked, "Who's your friend, Mira?"

Tokumira replied, "Hibana-sama, this is Hyuuga Tsuki."

"One of my daughters married a Hyuuga during the war. One of your uncles probably. I doubt he even remembers her," Hibana-sama told me.

"You say that to all the clan kids that pass through here," Tokumira complained, "Just to scare them into thinking that their clan won't come and find them a place to stay, but they always do, Hibana-sama."

Hibana-sama laughed and asked, "Is Suzume taking good care of the kiddies these days? I know her and that boy of hers are having their own, and I want to be sure before I croak that they still treat all the little ones like their own brat."

"She's great with them. They get on my nerves sometimes, but she's always pleasant and smiling no matter what they do, Hibana-sama," Tokumira told her.

"It'll be the first time in nearly sixteen years since we've had a newborn in this house," Hibana-sama remarked, "Of course, that little boy didn't hang around for long either. He was an Uchiha, and I knew their clan could take better care of him then we could. It doesn't matter how hard you try, Toku. Those clans know how to make a brat strong," Hibana-sama said, "Of course, we still don't know who that boy's mother was. I'm sure they spoiled him rotten, a clan heir like him. If you can get stronger than him, Toku…"

Tokumira said as Hibana-sama drifted off to sleep rather suddenly, "She always told me about him. She'd tell me if I could be stronger than him, I'd prove that heritage didn't matter. I think she forgot to remember that his heritage is at least half like mine. No one knows who his mom is, and no one knows who my parents are."

"I can see why your nindo became what it did," I replied, moving towards the window to go home.

"Don't think this means I've given up!" Tokumira informed me, her voice finally regaining the hard edge I was used to, "I will get stronger than you and every other clan member!"

I offered, "I'd expect nothing less. If you wish to duel someone tomorrow, come find me after you're done training, and perhaps together we can get strong enough to take on Okami."

I left out the window, but I could have sworn I heard Tokumira say, "Thank you."

Okami in ANBU

Under Tenzo

Obito

"We'll have another mission day after tomorrow," Tenzo told us, "Rest up for now. Bunny, make sure you see someone about that scratch."

"Of course, senpai," Bunny agreed, and I followed him when we all disappeared. Predictably, he went straight back to his room rather than going to any healer.

I pointed out, "This doesn't seem like a place where you'd find a medic-nin."

"It's a tiny scratch," Bunny argued, walking over to his closet and pulling out a surprisingly well-stocked first aid kit, "I can take care of it myself without risking infection." Whomever his sensei had been, Bunny had clearly paid attention when he was told that it could sometimes be necessary for those that weren't medic-nin to treat their injuries.

"If you want some dinner, Kakashi makes a passable miso, and it's his turn to cook tonight," I offered.

Bunny stiffened a little, which was a more honest reaction than any other I'd seen him give before he told me, "Sorry, I doubt he'd be comfortable with some masked ANBU showing up. I'll be fine. I still have some stuff that shouldn't have gone bad." He adjusted his shirt sleeve over the bandage, but didn't move to change yet. I caught a glimpse of old scar tissue, but I couldn't catalogue what it was from where I stood.

I didn't push. Doing that inevitably made Bunny retreat even more. It was better to play it long, to keep nudging him towards trusting me than to try to force anything. At the very least, he managed to show more emotion than the Root-nin, and he was getting closer and closer to the average ANBU levels of sharing, even if he refused to ever remove his mask in the presence of others. Of course, it mostly seemed to me like Bunny's mask never came off.

Present

Shikadai

Okami was just pinning me to the ground again when Kakashi-sensei finally decided it was time to make an appearance.

He was eye-smiling in that way that suggested whatever we were about to do was going to be annoying.

Okami let me up, and Tsuki said, "Good morning, sensei."

"Good morning," Kakashi-sensei agreed good-naturedly, "Today, we're going to be giving some other jonin-sensei a break, while they go on a mission, so we'll be looking after a few genin teams while they do some D-ranked missions."

"The genin have to do all the heavy lifting, right?" Okami asked. His back had been bothering him more today than it had been previously. I was guessing it was beginning to itch in places, which could be extremely distracting.

Sensei nodded in agreement.

We met up with the four waiting genin teams within the hour, although it seemed like they'd all been waiting for a while.

One of them, a young member of the Yamanaka Clan, demanded, "Why are you all so late?"

"Blame our sensei," Tsuki recommended, "He's always late."

Kakashi-sensei gave Okami, Tsuki, and I a list of D-ranked missions to finish before the day ended.

Okami, deciding to take the hands-off approach, summoned three of his wolves to keep an eye on the genin, while he trailed slowly behind them in case any of them got into serious trouble.

Kakashi-sensei went for the same approach he'd always done with us, giving out orders to make sure the missions happened fast, but still making the genin do all the heavy lifting.

Tsuki seemed prone to micromanaging, but she still managed to make sure the genin were all doing the worst parts of each missions.

I gave my own genin their missions, and then occasionally chimed in to help with the planning of the completion of those missions, not really wanting to have to go through that much work myself for these kinds of low ranked missions that wouldn't get anyone hurt.

Okami's group managed to finish first, and so Okami sent them out to get food for everyone, letting the wolves hang back and making small talk with them. Tsuki's team was the last to stumble back, and they all seemed exhausted.

The same Yamanaka boy complained, "That cat is the devil."

"No, she's not," Okami told him, "She's rather partial to chicken."

Before anything else could be said or done, a runner from the hospital was there again. Okami sighed, but dispelled his pack and followed the runner back towards the hospital.

Okami

There was pain in Fey's eyes when I reached her hospital room. The woman standing with her had tears welling in her eyes, and she looked sad. Simple logic told me that this was Mai-san. If I had to guess, they were discussing just who Fey had killed.

Fey smiled a little when she saw me and said, "There you are, Okami."

"Hello," I offered, nodding to show some courtesy to the woman I hadn't been introduced to yet, "I'm Uchiha Okami. Feel free to call me Okami."

"It's very nice to meet you, Okami," the woman offered, sniffling a little, and I really hoped that I wasn't about to see a grown woman cry.

I looked to Fey, expecting an explanation for my presence.

Fey told me, "It was just discovered that some criminal from your village ordered my birth mother's death. I just… I always imagined I'd meet her someday."

"I'm sorry," I said, fairly certain that it was what one was supposed to say, "Who told you?"

"A man in a snake mask came in and told us," Fey explained.

I breathed in heavily, but there was too strong of a smell of disinfectant in the room for me to smell anything but the people and things currently present. The person that had taken me into Root all those years ago had worn a snake mask, and I hadn't known of a single ANBU or Root to have such a mask since then.

I told Fey, "I need to report that to someone. There's no one in the village that uses a snake mask."

Fey looked like she was about to cry, but I was certain that Mai-san could console her in my short absence.

The ANBU that had been stationed to guard Fey were nowhere to be seen, which could have happened for any number of reasons, although it made me nervous. I moved quickly through the village, figuring I could tell Uncle Sasuke about it, and he would take care of it.

I could sense his carefully controlled chakra inside his apartment, along with Sakura-san and a child's, which seemed a little odd to me ( _I've played with everything else, so why not make Boruto and his team younger than they're supposed to be_?). I rang the doorbell, vaguely wondering why Sakura-san would be there at all, when Uncle Sasuke almost never went to a medic-nin when he was injured.

Uncle Sasuke opened the door, and he was dressed casually enough that I concluded this was a rare day off. I almost felt bad for ending it.

"Fey just told me that a man in a snake mask was in her hospital room," I informed him, "He told Fey that her mother had been killed."

"I'll meet you there," Uncle Sasuke informed me, and I moved to return to the hospital before the door had closed entirely.

Fey had just finished wiping the tears from her eyes, although they were still red and puffy. Mai-san glared at me, as if it was my fault the girl was so emotional. I focused on inspecting the room more thoroughly, hoping for some small sign that someone that wasn't supposed to be there had been in the room.

A team of ANBU, Uncle Sasuke's team, appeared barely three minutes later, and they also surveyed the room carefully.

Fey asked me, "Why is it such a big deal?"

"It's a long story," I told her, "but a person in a snake mask committed a serious crime a few years ago, and he was never caught."

"What exactly did the person in the snake mask say and do?" Uncle Sasuke inquired.

Fey explained, "He came into the room just after Orochimaru-san finished testing me for the day," I wanted to curse whatever hospital attendant had decided I needed to be there, "it was a man, I think, and he told me that a criminal from this village ordered someone to kill my birth mother. He said her name was Kemono."

Although most people likely wouldn't have been able to tell, Uncle Sasuke was at least a little surprised by the name. He subtly gave me hand signs to meet him at the Main Uchiha Household later, while he told Fey, "We will investigate further."

The team of ANBU left shortly thereafter, and I half listened while Fey told me about all the tests that Orochimaru-sama had done on her. When I deemed enough time had passed, I excused myself and carefully went to the Main Household, not wanting to have any of the high ranking Uchiha attempt anything when I didn't show them any difference.

Fugaku-sama, Mikoto-sama, my father, and Uncle Sasuke were all waiting there, along with a large, nice looking dinner. Small talk was made while we were eating, but I was more concerned with what my uncle wanted to talk to me about. He pulled me aside after dinner, taking me into the library.

"I've already told Naruto about this whole situation," Uncle Sasuke informed me, "Kimono is the name of a woman that Danzo ordered quite a few of his Root operatives to kill. You were the one that finally succeeded."

"I had no idea who she was at the time. She was actually the one to tell me that other attempts had been made on her by larger numbers of Root operatives. She postulated that Danzo was trying to get me killed. I took her out before she revealed any more information. It was important for me to get back to the village quickly, as I was supposed to be on bedrest, and Hema and Tobu were looking for me nearby," I explained, frowning as I attempted to connect the dots. Whoever had worn the snake mask during my chuunin exam had obviously been working for Danzo. Was it possible that they had been forced into that service the way I had been or was he just calling Danzo a criminal to throw us off the trail?

Uncle Sasuke told me, "We'll be careful to ensure Fey doesn't discover this, as Orochimaru has postulated that extreme emotion could trigger the change."

"Why wouldn't that woman have used it against me then?" I inquired, "I couldn't have taken on a beast like that on my own, even with my wolf pack."

"It's possible that, despite her own beliefs, Fey inherited the ability from her father. Some of the file on Kemono was sealed, and that seal has yet to be broken. A team will likely have to be sent out to contact Jiraya," Uncle Sasuke offered.

I requested, "I know that my clearance level has shifted down, but I would like to know any new information if possible." This situation seemed dangerous, especially if emotion could cause Fey to change. She was already overly emotional, and it wasn't hard to imagine that she'd be furious that I'd been the one to kill her birth mother.

"I'll consider it," Uncle Sasuke replied.


	23. Cousin

**A/N: It's still technically Thursday, so I think this isn't technically late :) In this chapter, it's shown that Sarada is younger than our protagonists by several years, and I'll probably do the same thing with Bort if I choose to include him. Enjoy.**

Okami in ANBU

Kakashi

I told my team to spend some time together outside of training and then left for the hospital. The mission we'd been on had prevented me from being there for the actual event, but I'd been led to believe that Sakura was still in the hospital.

She was cradling the baby in her arms, and I greeted with a wave, "Yo."

"For once, I almost thought you'd be on time, but Naruto told me you were on a mission with your team yesterday, so I don't blame you," Sakura remarked, "Her name is Sarada."

"She's beautiful. Where's her dad?" I inquired.

Sakura told me, "Apparently, he couldn't get out of work. I think he's just worried I'll follow through on some of the threats I made while I was in labor. If I had to bet, he got the next couple of weeks off at work, so he's hiding out with his brother."

"I'll send him your way," I offered with a wink.

Sakura smiled, but Sarada woke up and started crying, so I quickly left the pair alone. It was good to see my first genin team finally settling down. I went to check up on my new team and was unsurprised to find Shikadai watching Inojin get himself into a fight with a girl from Tsuki's new team, Tokumira. I knew Shikadai would step in if either of them were about to get themselves seriously injured, so I headed for home.

Present

Okami

I was training in the backyard solo for the first time since I'd been back. Even before that, I'd spent more time training with Shikadai and Kakashi-and later with Tsuki as well-than I had in this area. It was just as my shuriken thunked neatly into the bullseye of each of the targets I'd set up that I felt a child's chakra near the fence.

I waited a beat, wondering what the child was doing. After a minute, a child that couldn't be older than four or five tumbled over the fence, and I pulled on my chakra to catch her before she could hurt herself by hitting the ground. That seemed to make my back want to murder me, but as I set the grinning girl down, I felt like it was worth it.

"Hi!" she told me with a grin, "I'm Uchiha Sarada! What's your name? What are you doing? Why haven't I seen you before if you live with Uncle Itachi?"

Several things clicked together in my head all at once, although I understood Uncle Sasuke's decision. I had already been dealing with settling back into normal life without trying to explain my absence to this small personage. Besides, I was dangerous at best and deadly at worst.

I offered her my best attempt at a smile and told her, "I'm Okami, Sarada-kun. I was just training."

"With real ninja tools? My mommy and daddy say I can't use real ones. They say those are too dan-ger-ous," Sarada informed me.

"I had to practice really hard before I was allowed to use sharp shiruken," I told her, "Where's your care taker?"

Sarada's nose wrinkled, even as she told me, "I just wanted to see Uncle Itachi. Daddy said I need to wait a little while longer, but it's already passed the time of year when Uncle Itachi always gets really sad. Hokori-sensei said that we shouldn't come near here anymore because a bad ninja lives here. Do you know any bad ninja that live here, Okami-san?"

"No, I've got no idea who he's talking about," I replied, "Do you want to join me for breakfast? I was just about to take a break to go inside and make some."

"That would be great! I snuck out during breakfast, so I didn't get a chance to eat," Sarada explained.

I took her hand and walked into the house with her, then started to make enough food for two teenage boys and one little girl, promising myself that I'd walk her back to wherever she was supposed to be after the meal and disappear before any of her caretakers caught sight of me.

Sarada said, "Hokori-sensei is going to be really upset when he finds out that I left. I'll probably have to sit in time out all afternoon. Did you ever get time out?"

"I did a couple of times," I replied, "but time outs aren't nearly as bad if you use them to practice hand signs. It can help calm you down too if you focus on making them in the right order." I had been constantly put into time out during my very short stint with the Uchiha that taught all the little kids before they were old enough to go into the academy.

"I haven't ever gotten one before, but Hisui says that they're no fun," Sarada told me. That made sense. If people thought I was the worst heir possible, Sarada would be the person they'd want to take the seat in my place. Hopefully, she was an heir I could get behind too, as I really didn't want to end up leading a clan that thought I would destroy them at any moment.

Sarada proceeded to tell me all about her teacher and her friends, while I finished cooking breakfast. Shikadai showed up just as I was putting it on plates.

He asked, "Who's she?"

"Sarada, this is Nara Shikadai, one of the other ninja on my team," I told the little girl, "Shikadai, this is Uchiha Sarada, my cousin. She climbed over the fence earlier. I'm taking her back to her teachers right after we finish breakfast."

"Hi!" Sarada greeted, waving.

Shikadai took his plate and told me, "I just saw sensei walking out of the Hokage Tower. He told me we'd be leaving on a longer mission this afternoon, so we wouldn't have training. He was going to tell Tsuki, but since he saw me, he told me to go tell you."

"That's going to be fun," I remarked, "I guess I'll have to track down my father to let him know."

"Okami-san, do I have to go back after breakfast?" Sarada asked, somehow making her eyes look big and sad.

I pointed out, "If you don't go back, you could miss out on learning something important."

Sarada pouted, and she proceeded to eat purposefully slowly, filling the air with more talk about adventures she and her friends went on in an attempt to distract me from that slow eating. She was going to be a very good ninja one day if she was already attempting such trickery. Finally, her stomach beat her reluctance to return to her class, and she finished breakfast, only having managed to drag it out for half an hour.

I bid Shikadai goodbye after he'd given me as many details on the mission as Kakashi-sensei had given him, then took Sarada's hand. She seemed to have acquiesced to her fate, as she cheerfully skipped while she led the way to where her class met, which had changed since my short time there. She, like me, didn't bow to anyone, and the few people that looked like they were about to say something about it received sharp, challenging looks from me.

The building I was led into had all sorts of kids from high ranking Uchiha families. They were loosely organized into groups, and the building was large enough that it would likely have smaller classrooms for different age groups or skill levels.

Unlike their mentors, the kids kept talking when I came into the room, totally oblivious to my presence.

An older man who had likely retired from active duty before my chuunin exam finally walked over, and I released Sarada's hand only then. She quickly ran off to join her friends.

He demanded, keeping his voice low enough that the other children couldn't here, "What gives you the right to take Sarada away from her classes?"

"I didn't take her away," I replied, "She told me she left during breakfast. She came to my house in search of my father. Apparently, she was told by someone here that she shouldn't go near there because a bad ninja was living there. Any idea who she could have been referring to?" I was half smiling and half baring my teeth. My killing intent was only restrained so that none of the children would be frightened, but the glint in my eye would make it clear to anyone with a brain between their ears that I was dangerous.

The man, old though he was, didn't seem to know how to respond to such an accusation.

"You might want to keep a closer eye on your students. I'd hate to hear that these kid's parents found out that you can't even keep track of them well enough to know when one of them is missing," I remarked. With that, I turned on my heel and left, knowing that I had business to take care of.

I debated with myself as I searched for my father about whether or not I would tell Uncle Sasuke about this morning's events. Sarada would certainly share them with her parents, so there was no specific need for me to say anything to anyone. Eventually, I decided that if I was asked, I would answer, but I would otherwise remain silent.

Finally, I found my father in the Uchiha Clan's private training fields, sparring against three other men. This was to be expected. People wanted to be certain whomever was leading the clan was strong, and they had likely seen any emotions my father showed due to my absence as a weakness. This was my father proving for what had to be the thousandth time that he was stronger than any of the Uchiha that would challenge him.

I made sure I caught his attention, and the tide of the fight seemed to tip all at one. Suddenly, the three other Uchiha were on the ground, and my father walked over to see what I needed.

I followed him over to a table that was set up nearby for those that wanted to watch the fights. Those at tables nearby fled quickly, and I wondered just how many of the Uchiha were terrified of me and how many were horrified at the idea that they'd be associated with me. It suited my purpose either way. This wasn't a conversation they necessarily needed to overhear.

Father asked, "What brought you here today?"

"My team has received another mission," I explained, "Shikadai came by to tell me, so I don't have all the information. It shouldn't take more than two weeks though, according to him. It's only a C-rank, so I have no idea what we're going to be doing." The lowest ranked mission I'd ever gotten in ANBU was B, and I still wasn't sure why I'd been assigned to that particular mission.

There was worry in his eyes, which was to be expected. I hadn't been home for long, and any parent would worry about their child leaving after such a short time being home. Still, we both had our duties, duties that we couldn't possibly allow to fall by the wayside.

"Be careful," he advised, and there was something in his voice that filled in the rest the way he couldn't in this too public setting. He was my father, yes, but if he wasn't, he would still have my respect.

I stood, bowed slightly to him and said, "I need to pack if I want to be on time."

He nodded his head in return, and I easily disappeared again. It took me little time to pack, but I went to the gate to wait, unsurprised to see my teammates there with not even the smallest sign that our sensei was anywhere nearby.

 _Flashback_

ANBU Under Tenzo

Okami

Our team was waiting for our new mission as a group for once, as Danzo wanted to explain it to us personally. I had the feeling that these missions were escalating towards something, but couldn't piece together what that was.

"Hello," Danzo offered, finally walking into his office after leaving us to wait for hours. I contemplated flicking my wrist and sending a kunai through his chest, but I knew he was fast enough to catch it if I tried. He only seemed old.

Cat-senpai pointed out, "You said you have a mission for us, Danzo."

"Ah, yes," Danzo agreed, "I need Bunny and Mouse to retrieve a scroll from the Village Hidden in the Clouds. They are expecting you. The rest of you have an S ranked misson." He gave Cat and Mouse separate scrolls.

"If Mouse and Bunny will remain, the rest of you are dismissed," Danzo offered. Cat seemed reluctant to go, but he led the rest of the team out of the room.

Mouse-senpai asked, "Does this mission have any complications you're planning to alert us to?"

"Not at all," Danzo replied, "I simply thought that I'd remind you of the dangers of trying to see beneath a Root agent's mask, Mouse. Many of the Root say that you've been very protective of Bunny recently. While I understand wanting to protect young shinobi, you should remember that Bunny is more than qualified for his position, and it will be his duty to kill you should you discover anything."

I gritted my teeth, but held my tongue. There was no way for me to protect Obito-senpai and my pack. If I was forced to choose, then I'd make the same choice every time.

Mouse-senpai told him, "Danzo, you seem to forget that I'm not afraid of you. You're not even as powerful as the Uchiha Clan, and I trod on their toes like it's some kind of game. Besides, it might finally give Naruto the excuse he needs to have you declared an enemy of the village."

"Leave," Danzo ordered through gritted teeth. Mouse-senpai offered him a mock salute and walked out of the room.

"If he finds out who you are," Danzo informed me, "I'll have everyone you know and love killed."

I retorted, "If you do, then I'll finally be free to kill you." With that, I followed my senpai out of the room, and I was surprised to see that Mouse-senpai had actually been lingering there.

"If you're doing all this to protect your loved ones, then I'll stop asking," Mouse-senpai offered, and I got the sense he was smiling behind his mask.

"You don't have to," I replied, "and you and I both know it would be simple for you to find out my identity if it really mattered, unless your eye trait isn't as developed as I've been led to believe. You look at my chakra, but you always avoid looking at my face."

Mouse-senpai pointed out, "It wouldn't be very sporting if I cheated."

I rolled my eyes, and we both set out on our mission.

Present

Shikadai

Kakashi-sensei arrived at the gate three hours after the appointed meeting time, and he had a pair of shinobi with him.

"Team, we're going to have to split up for our next mission. It barely qualifies as a C-ranked, and we're the only group that can be spared for it at the moment. One of you will go with Orochimaru and Sakura, while the other two will accompany me. We're going to be tracking down the two remaining sannin to request that they both return to the village," Kakashi-sensei explained.

Tsuki and I shared a look. There was no way we were going to let Okami go on a mission without at least one of us, and so it was between the two of us who would stay with him and who would go with the other two.

Tsuki said, "I'll go with Orochimaru-sama and Sakura-sama." ( _Tsuki, as a medic-nin in training would have heard a lot of stories about Sakura, so that's why she gives Sakura the honorific._ )

"You three will be trying to track down Tsunade, while the three of us will be tracking down Jiraiya," Kakashi-sensei said.

We set off in different directions.

"Did you purposefully tell us an earlier meeting time?" Okami inquired, "I wouldn't suspect as much, except I know that Sakura-san would do everything in her power to avoid being late, and I doubt Orochimaru would be late either."

Kakashi-sensei told him with an eye-smile, "Ma, I would never want to put my students on edge."

 **A/N: A question for anyone that cares to answer: Who do you ship with who so far in this story?**

 **There are no wrong answers.**


	24. Switch

**A/N: If all goes as planned, I should have a couple of weeks of updates. I talked the story through with a friend, and she helped me get some new ideas. I'd give her a shout out, but she's rather shy ;) Anyway, enjoy.**

 _Flashback_

ANBU under Tenzo

Obito

Bunny seemed tense throughout our journey, which was wearing on me. He took first watch every night, even when I offered to trade off with him, which wasn't all that unusual. Plenty of shinobi with half of his kills had difficulty sleeping at night.

Just as we arrived at the Village Hidden in the Clouds, Bunny drew to an immediate halt. He asked, "Mouse-senpai, why were a pair of ANBU level shinobi dispatched on what should be a C-ranked mission to retrieve a scroll from a village we have a strong alliance with?"

"Well, Bunny," I replied, "If it had been the Hokage that gave us this mission, I'd say he was trying to get us to take a break. It's not though, so either Cat's mission is meant to fail, ours is, or there's some purpose for this that none of us will be able to discern for a long time."

Bunny nodded, and we continued into the village

Present

Tsuki

"Really," Sakura assured me, "Just Sakura is fine. You're Neji's daughter, right?"

"Yes," I agreed quickly.

Sakura asked, "And you're training to be a medic-nin?"

"Yes," I said, "I am a skilled fighter, but even the best shinobi get injured sometimes, and on my own team, I am the weakest link, so I figured it was my duty to become a medic-nin."

"I had much the same reasoning when I first started learning how to be a medic-nin, and your clan's traits will make it easy for you to become one of the best medic-nin there are. Still, it's important to make certain that it's what you want, or you might start to resent those on your team," Sakura pointed out.

I inquired, "Did you ever?"

"No," Sakura told me, "but I've seen it happen to others. My team stuck together pretty well though. I mean, I did end up marrying Sasuke, but we both still spend quite a bit of time with Naruto."

"Was his clan okay with that?" I asked.

Sakura replied, "They were willing to accept me mostly because Sasuke told them that if they didn't there would never be another potential heir. Of course, I'd rather Sarada didn't ever have to deal with being a potential heir, but that's just because Itachi came to me the first time Okami was hurt by his clan."

"That…" I started, "That was when his arms were burned, right?"

"Yes, he was so little at the time. Apparently, he'd only looked one of those with higher standing in the clan in the eyes, and they decided to teach him a lesson by burning his arms," Sakura informed me, and she had a distant look in her eyes.

I asked, "Are you worried about them doing the same thing to Sarada?"

"A little," Sakura replied, "but they haven't so far, and if they ever tried, I'd deck them in the face, rules be damned." ( _Most of the time I avoid cursing because I don't generally do it, so it always feels awkward when I try to write dialogue that way. This is going to be an exception because darned just doesn't feel strong enough_.) She had a wicked glint in her eye, and I got the sense that she'd actually do it if provoked.

Okami

We got to the village that Jiraya of the Sannin was supposed to be in just as dusk hit, and Kakashi-sensei led us to the hot springs outside the village, as Jiraya was prone to frequent such locations and attempt to look at naked women. Such pursuits made little sense to me, but as long as he was actually there, I didn't really mind.

Just as we were about to ask after Jiraya at the front desk, a woman complained, "Here I thought I managed to shake off all of the shinobi trying to keep an eye on me."

"We were actually looking for Jiraya of the Sannin," I remarked, "but if shinobi are meant to be keeping an eye on you, we could contact some."

"Okami, Shikadai, this is Tsunade," Kakashi-sensei told us.

I analyzed the woman again and adjusted my initial findings around that information. She likely wasn't actually drunk, and her attempts to avoid shinobi would be to post pone people like us from getting in contact with her as quickly. Clearly, whomever had provided intel for this mission had either failed spectacularly or never actually seen which sannin they were tailing. I suspected both.

Tsunade asked, "How long has it been, Kahashi?"

"Five years," Kakashi-sensei informed her.

"That is quite a while," Tsunade remarked, "Did they ever find who killed her?"

Kakashi-sensei said, "Danzo ordered her killed. She found out the identity of one of the Root she treated." I stiffened, wondering just who that Root was. Most of them hid more about themselves than I ever managed, although I had been fairly sure that I hid most of my notable scars from everyone.

"If you're after Jiraya, then I imagine you'll be on your way," Tsunade pointed out, gesturing towards the door.

"No, Tsunade-san," Shikadai informed her, "There were two teams. One sent to find you and one sent to find Jiraya-san. We thought we would find Jiraya-san here."

Tsunade concluded, "So the other team was optimized to bring me back. I imagine you three won't have much luck. You can come back to my hotel and buy me a drink though." She walked past us out the door, and we all followed her. The walk was draped in an awkward silence, and I wondered if there was any way for the three of us to convince Tsunade to come with us.

Tsunade stopped in the middle of a near-empty intersection and demanded, "Which one of you has blood on you?"

I looked at Shikadai, and he nodded a tiny bit.

"I'm sorry," I told her, as I at least knew that this legendary medic-nin had an inexplicable fear of blood.

"Okami, Shikadai, go find us a place to spend the night," Kakshi-sensei ordered, "I'll meet up with you soon."

Shikadai and I easily disappeared, and I wondered what Kakashi-sensei's plan was.

Tsunade

I fixed Kakashi with a withering look, even as he gave me a fresh bottle of sake. He said, "The Root that she found the identity of was Okami. He was injured, and she noticed burn scars on his arms that had been there since he looked one of his clan leaders in the eye when he was young. She was killed before she could tell Itachi so that he would spend another five years without his son."

"How did he get out of Root then?" I asked, then took a long drink straight from the bottle.

"He was pushed too far," Kakashi replied, "so he revealed his identity, and Danzo was killed by angry shinobi as an enemy of the village. He risked his own life and the lives of his friends to do it, but it was better than the alternative to him. Within a couple of days though, his clan dredged up a past offense so that they could whip him, and he had to ask me to watch so that he could ensure the contract he made with the Wolf Boss was protected and the medic-nin in the room didn't try to make him bleed to death. Despite all of this, he's gone on missions and remains a loyal Konoha shinobi."

I remarked, "So even in death, she failed."

"No, what happened to her made others trying to find out the secrets behind the Root more cautious. If it weren't for her, countless others may have died trying to see behind their masks," Kakashi told me.

"You still haven't said," I pointed out, "why I'm needed back in the village."

Kakashi replied, "A medic-nin of your skills is **always** needed in the village. Our mission is for one case that Sakura and Orochimaru can't solve even together, but you're always needed." He stood up, put a couple of coins on the counter, then moved to walk away.

"So that's it? You tell me one of your little team's sob stories and then walk away?" I demanded.

"We were sent to get Jiraya," Kakashi pointed out, "I have no reason to try to convince you to come with us, when it's clear you'd rather drown your sorrows in gambling and sake."

I watched his back as he left and wondered why there was a renewed sense of guilt in my gut. I pushed away the sake and wondered aloud, "Why does it always have to be me?" ( _My Kakashi is super OOC. I've always had a hard time writing characters that pretend to be funny when they're actually serious_.)

Tsuki

"Jir-Jiraya-sama," I stuttered out, entirely shocked.

Jiraya-sama smiled widely and asked, "What brings you here, Hyuuga-san?"

"I'm sorry, sir," I told him with a quick bow, "We were expecting to find Tsunade-sama. The other team was sent to find you."

"Oh really? What's so urgent that you need both of us?" Jiraya-sama inquired, and the smile he gave me didn't quite seem to reach his eyes this time.

I explained, "I don't really know all the information, but Sakura or Orochimaru-sama can explain. I'll run get them."

"I'll go with you," Jiraya-sama told me, "It'll be quicker that way."

I nodded in agreement and led the way towards where Sakura had told me she would be searching. We found her quickly, and Sakura relayed information to Jiraya-sama as we went to grab Orochimaru-sama and head back for the village.

The greeting between the two sannin wasn't exactly warm, and I hoped that I'd never have that kind of relationship with either of my teammates.

We started back towards the village, and I wondered if the others would beat us back or not.

 **Hope Jiraiya and Tsunade seemed believable. I like them both a lot, but it seems like all the characters I like the most are the hardest to recapture. See you next Thursday (if everything goes as planned).**


	25. Apologies

Okami

I was surprised to see Tsunade in the hotel courtyard as I finished my morning stretches. Shikadai had gone back to bed after helping me to apply lotion to my cuts, and Kakashi-sensei was communicating with the other team.

She took a seat on a nearby bench and asked, "Who's usually the third on your team?"

"Hyuuga Tsuki," I offered without intonation, beginning a kata just to keep from having to stand in front of her as if I was reporting. She wasn't Hokage anymore, and I had no reason to answer her questions if I didn't want to.

"She must be your medic then," Tsunade concluded, "I've never heard of an Uchiha learning to heal."

I remarked, "When sober, you appear capable of identifying the fact that I take after my father in most things. If you're trying to provoke me, I'll warn you that facts about my clan won't do much to me. I've had more of a third-party view on them most of my life." This kata was one all shinobi were taught. We weren't supposed to do those only taught to the clan outside the clan grounds. Perhaps I lacked loyalty for the Uchiha, but I had still learned their way of doing things, and it would be difficult for me to ignore some of the things they had taught me, just as it would be nigh on impossible for me to ignore my ANBU and Root training now.

"You weren't frowning like an Uchiha last night," Tsunade offered by way of explanation, and I wondered for a moment why she was trying to antagonize me. Perhaps, like a couple of adult Uchiha had done when I was younger, she was trying to make me lash out, so it would be easier for her to hate me.

"Your talk with Kakashi-sensei must have gone well if you're looking for an excuse not to come with us," I remarked, "I doubt you'll get one from me, and Shikadai is both still asleep and too lazy to antagonize anyone, even if he's more willing to try than the average Nara. I'd suggest Kakashi-sensei, but he's harder to antagonize than I am if you're not willing to cause harm." I was having trouble aligning this woman with the one I'd heard stories about as a kid, and it was simpler to think of them as separate entities. People changed with time, and it was more than likely that she was a completely different person than she had been then.

Tsunade was frowning when I bothered to get a glance at her face, and I carefully hid my grin from the woman, proud that I'd managed to guess her reason for antagonizing me.

Tsunade complained, "You are certainly harder to rile than Obito."

I paused, one leg in the air, confused by that statement. I'd never considered Obito-senpai to be quick to anger. I normally thought he was the most laid back Uchiha I'd ever met. He was protective of those he cared about, but beyond that, he normally diffused any situation with a joke.

"Would you explain your reasoning?" I requested, resuming the kata more slowly, making certain that each move was done with precision.

"Well, perhaps not adult Obito," Tsunade acquiesced, "but I'll always remember him as the little gennin with orange goggles that would do anything to prove himself and would do absolutely anything to protect his team."

I concluded, "While the second part remains true, he has no need to prove himself to anyone now."

"Do you remember a medic-nin named Shizune?" Tsunade inquired.

"No," I replied, pausing again so I could look her in the eye, "but most of my treatments by medics in recent years only occurred when I became unconscious. Those treatments I received while conscious came from the healer on the team. If it is my fault she died, I'm very sorry."

Tsunade considered me carefully, and I wondered if she understood how much I meant that. I should have activated a genjutsu when I was about to pass out to hide my scars or done something to make the ones on my arms look less like fingers and the ones on my back look less like lashes. It was my fault a good Konoha nin had died, and I had to live with that.

 _Flashback_

Okami is a Baby

Itachi

( _I know I've basically given this backstory, but I kind of felt like writing it out, so you're all going to get it anyway. It'll happen in several parts through several perspectives over a period of time._ )

It was late, but I was only just getting back from a long mission. We were due to have a few days off before our next one, so I was planning on getting some much-needed rest. The guards seemed to sense my exhaustion, so they let me by without a word as I walked into the grounds of the main household.

I removed my shoes at the entrance and began the walk to my own room. I was passing one of the courtyards when I heard a strange noise, which sounded like a child's muffled crying. Sasuke was too old for tears by that point, which is likely what drove me to investigate. I found a small crate, that seemed to have something struggling inside, but the form of the 'thing' was covered by a blanket. I pulled it back as best I could, then stared in shock for a moment. It was a baby.

It promptly howled its anger and confusion, prompting me to scoop it up and make some attempt to coax it into quieting down before it woke the other members of my household. Of course, normally when I was made to hold one of my young cousins and they began crying, the mother removed them from my grasp, so I was forced to guess at how to cause the wailing to cease.

My mother came into the courtyard, bleary-eyed, and asked, "Itachi, why do you have a baby?"

"I found him here as I was going to my room," I explained.

Mother took him from my arms, and it almost seemed she had the magic touch. Of course, having had two sons, it was likely a matter of experience that allowed her to calm the child.

"You had a long mission," my mother said, "I'll take him to the hospital. They can find his parents, if he has any. Was there any note with his name or anything?"

I poked through the basket and found a card with what I had to assume was his name written on it. I told her, "It's Okami."

"I suppose I'll need to bring it along. It's evidence," mother concluded.

I yawned a little, but helped her rearrange, so that she could carry the crate and the baby.

Present

Shikadai

I wandered down the stairs, planning on seeing if Okami had gotten breakfast yet. I found him doing katas in a courtyard, while Tsunade seemed to watch him or something.

Okami was moving slowly, probably trying to make sure each movement was perfect or something like that. He stopped, and he looked sad. I walked into the courtyard, which seemed to snap him out of whatever he'd been thinking about, and he offered me a smile.

Tsunade looked tired, but I didn't have a chance to ask about that.

Sensei walked into the courtyard and said, "We're going to head back. Jiraya is on his way with the other team. Hopefully, he'll be able to help."

"I guess I can come along," Tsunade remarked with a sigh, "Can't let myself be one upped by that idiot."

If sensei was surprised by that, he didn't show it.

It didn't take us that long to get back to the village, but waiting for us at the front gate was an ANBU in a snake mask.

 **Hooray! Something resembling a plot! Feel free to leave a review.**


	26. Lost

_Flashback_

Okami is a Baby

Sakura

I yawned widely, then walked over to the nurses' desk and asked, "How many more?"

"You're almost done. Mikoto Uchiha just came in with a baby that someone found in the Uchiha Compound," the nurse informed me, "She's requesting a DNA test and placement before morning. Most the other cases are less urgent, and there are some students here that can handle most the heavy lifting on those."

"Alright, I'll go talk to Mikoto," I agreed.

The nurse told me, "She's in room five."

I walked over to the room and stepped inside. Mikoto was feeding an infant a bottle.

"Ah, Sakura, I just wanted to make certain that this child was processed as soon as was possible," Mikoto admitted, "Itachi found him in our courtyard when he got back from his mission. I have no idea how anyone got him there without anyone noticing, but it just feels like it's our responsibility."

"Alright, well I'll give the baby a checkup, take a DNA swab, and then we can get him placed into a home until the DNA comes back. Was there any indication of his name?" I inquired.

Mikoto nodded, even as she passed the baby and the bottle to me and said, "His name is Okami."

"Okami," I repeated, partly to help me remember.

I gave him a checkup, then took a swab from inside his mouth for DNA. It'd take a few days to get the DNA test run, but if Okami had a parent in the village, we'd find them.

Mikoto requested, "Please, let me know how his case turns out."

"I'll do my best," I offered, knowing that there were some things I'd likely have to keep confidential.

Present

Okami

Kakashi-sensei and I launched forward, and I wasn't certain if we were going to kill the man in the snake mask or capture him. At that point, I didn't care. He seemed almost capable of anticipating out movements though. Shikadai managed to grab his shadow though while we were fighting him, trapping the man in place. I was panting, feeling more drained than I likely should have been. Still, I'd finally get the answer to this mystery that I'd faced for years. I'd finally get to know who the man in the snake mask was.

Kakashi-sensei grabbed his mask and ripped it off his face, only for there to be another mask. I knew what this was all too soon, and I easily formed the hand sign, dreading what I'd soon find before me, "Kai."

"No," I barely managed to get out, then fell to my knees. Shikadai was gone. Tsunade-sama was trapped, tied to a tree. Kakashi-sensei did what I had to break the genjutsu, and it seemed to be all he could do not to curse.

I didn't hesitate for another moment. I summoned forth my wolf pack. Gin didn't even have to look at me twice to know what was wrong. He sniffed the area, but then he shook his head. Somehow, the man in the snake mask had covered up their scent trail.

Gin seemed to know what I needed, even as I ran straight for the forest of death. I found the tallest, strongest tree I could, then started pounding it with my fists in frustration. There was no way for us to find Shikadai, and he'd soon face worse than even I had at the ends of an enemy of the village, and I'd been incapable of protecting him, trapped in a genjutsu I hadn't noticed being formed around me. The Uchiha Clan was right. I was worthless, nothing more than a bastard that didn't deserve my name or title. I was no Wolf Sage. I couldn't protect my pack. I didn't deserve the title shinobi.

 _Flashback_

ANBU Under Tenzo

Okami

I was just sitting in the ANBU dining hall, waiting patiently for Mouse-senpai, so that we could go on patrol, reading a book that Mouse-senpai had given me, which seemed extremely confusing. A couple of ANBU nearby were getting in a shouting match.

"There's no way that any clanless nin could beat a clan heir. I don't care what you say, that Tokumira girl couldn't have possibly beaten Inojin," Turtle insisted.

Monkey retorted, "and I'm telling you that Tokumira would have broken Inojin's legs if Shikadai hadn't stepped in when he did."

"Really?" Turtle asked, "What lazy Nara would bother to save anyone?"

I gritted my teeth.

"He was too lazy to save that Uchiha he was on a team with, after all," Turtle continued.

It took every ounce of self-restraint I had to keep my killing intent from flaring. After all, I couldn't even reveal that I was protective of Shikadai, as that could lead to someone finding out who I was, and then Danzo would have my pack killed, starting with Shikadai.

Monkey said, "Yeah, I'm sure if that Tokumira girl had been on his team, that Uchiha would still be in the village."

"No," Turtle insisted, "Clan-less nin like that are all but worthless. We might as well not bother to train them. I'd say it'd make more sense to just leave people like Dog, so that they don't disappoint us all."

That was all it took to break my self-restraint, since this was something I was technically allowed to be angry about.

"We need clan-less shinobi and clans to keep the village strong," I retorted, glaring up at the man and loosing the smallest portion of my killing intent I could manage.

Turtle demanded, "Do you want to say that again, Bunny?" He seemed to be reacting more to my killing intent than my words, although it was hard to tell. His own was starting to flare in reply, but it wasn't nearly as strong as Kakashi-sensei's, Mouse-senpai's, or Cat-senpai's.

"The only kind of shinobi we don't need," I continued pointedly, ignoring his demand, "is those that refuse to work with one of those two types, as they can only _weaken_ the village."

That seemed to be more than Turtle could take, as he swung a chakra infused fist at me, catching me under my chin. If I hadn't already been channeling my chakra, I might have died from that hit. As it was, the momentum of it managed to flip me through the air, and I landed on my feet, then shot forward. I kicked Turtle hard in the chest, knocking him to the ground, then stepped on his chest, using my chakra to keep him down. Turtle tried to use his own to push back up, and the force of it pushed several nearby tables and chairs back.

The rest of the room was silent as Turtle and I glared at each other and had our contest of strength.

Suddenly, someone cleared his throat, and Turtle glanced away first, allowing me to look and see what Mouse-senpai wanted from me.

Mouse-senpai chided, "kohai, if you don't get off of Turtle's chest, we'll be late." He was grinning all too much beneath his mask, and I wondered why he got such pleasure from treating me like I was a child.

I stepped past him without a word, releasing my chakra to let Turtle up. Turtle moved to attack my back, but before I could even block or anything, Mouse-senpai had the fist that had been aimed at my back locked in an iron-hard grip.

"Turtle, I've got to say: I'm hurt. You attacked my poor, defenseless little kohai, and you insulted clan-less ninja like me," Mouse-senpai said with a shake of his head.

Turtle retorted, "Bunny is in no way defenseless, and you're no more clan-less than the Hyuuga heir."

"For someone that likes clans so much," Mouse-senpai remarked, "You certainly don't follow Uchiha politics as much as you should. Besides, Bunny is completely defenseless. You can tell because he doesn't have any kunai. Real ninja have kunai." I rolled my eyes. Mouse-senpai was clearly trying to confuse the man into forgetting that he was supposed to be angry with me. It'd likely work too. Mouse-senpai was smarter and tougher than most people gave him credit for.

"He has a kunai pouch on his waist!" Turtle countered.

Mouse-senpai told him, "No, I'm pretty sure that's a pouch for his book."

Turtle made a strangled noise, which I could hear several other ninja in the room imitate.

"Senpai," I offered, my tone neutral, as I wasn't about to aid in Mouse-senpai's act, "If we don't hurry, we'll be late for patrol."

"Alright, kohai, but don't forget your jacket. I don't want you to catch a chill," Mouse-senpai suggested.

I rolled my eyes and led the way out of the room, leaving the remaining ANBU in stunned silence. I'd deal with Turtle later somehow. Shikadai wasn't lazy. He'd done as much as he could to help me.

 **I tried to write Obito being ridiculous. I think it worked... I hope it worked.**


	27. Coping

Present

Obito

Kakashi looked tired and angry when I found him in Naruto's office.

I asked, "Where's Okami?"

"Itachi and Sasuke are looking for him, along with his own wolf pack. He hasn't bothered to make them disappear or to summon them to him. Itachi is worried," Kakashi told me, his voice as lifeless as it had been when he'd first told me Okami had gone missing. Even if he acted like a careless person most of the time, Kakashi was all too good at hiding all of his emotions beneath layers and layers of either being unfeeling or making bad jokes.

"None of the ANBU I talked to had any leads on where Shikadai is," I offered, "and Danzo's records don't tell us anything about the man in the snake mask. I almost wish we'd left him alive, just so we could question him about this kind of thing now."

Kakashi's hands were clenched into fists, and I knew he was blaming himself for the disappearance of both of his students. I could at least help with one of those, most likely. After all, I'd spent more time with Okami over the last few years than anyone else had, even if I hadn't known it at the time.

I said, "I'll go find Okami and see you at home. Okay?"

Kakashi nodded, but I wasn't certain that he wouldn't go running off in search of Shikadai, trying to track a man that seemed to be entirely untraceable.

I left the Hokage's office again, heading straight for the Forest of Death. Bunny had been prone to going there for impossibly hard training sessions when we got back from a mission where something went wrong. He'd trained there for days the one time I'd gotten hurt protecting him from a jutsu he couldn't have seen coming. Itachi and Sasuke likely wouldn't have known to look for him there.

It didn't take me long to find him bashing himself against a particularly strong tree, not even infusing his blows with chakra to protect himself, which meant he was bruised, and his knuckles were bleeding already. I dropped down and made sure to flare my chakra a little in the hopes of catching his attention, but Okami seemed determined to destroy the tree without using any chakra at all.

I let out a heavy sigh, stepped forward, and grabbed him around the waist from behind. He struggled for a moment, then just fell limp, his body shaking because he was sobbing. This proved what I had already suspected to be true. Okami could be the best shinobi and never show any emotion at all, as long as no one he considered 'pack' was put into harm's way. As soon as that happened, all bets were off. He'd do whatever it took to protect them, and if he couldn't do that, he'd break.

I shifted Okami around, so I was hugging him instead of restraining him, not bothering to move yet because I had to get Okami past this somehow before I took him away, or he'd just keep coming back here.

After a while, Okami asked, sounding desperate and forlorn, "How can I find him?"

"I don't know," I told him honestly, not wanting to give him false hope even when he was this vulnerable, "but I'll do whatever I can to help you." He was just a kid, no matter what anyone else said, and I'd do whatever I could to help him.

Okami started to pull away, and I let him go, although I kept a sharp eye on him. If he was going to try to disappear and hurt himself more, I'd stop him. If he was going to run himself ragged searching for Shikadai, when there were already plenty of ANBU and Nara clan members doing so, I'd stop him from doing that too. If we had a credible lead, I'd do whatever I could to help him, but right now Okami needed to get some treatment for his wounds and then get at least a couple of hours of sleep.

Okami rubbed at his face, looking more his age than he had in all his time as a member of the Root. He asked, and I couldn't really understand his logic at all, "Would it… would it be okay if I had dinner with you and sensei tonight?"

"Sure," I agreed, although I still couldn't figure out why he'd want that. Itachi and Sasuke would do whatever they could to help Okami too, and there was no way that Okami would seek out comfort from Kakashi.

Okami nodded his head in thanks, and I let him lead the way back into the village. Itachi and Sasuke appeared almost the very moment that we got into town, but Okami was quick to tell them that he was fine and going to have dinner with me and Kakashi. Itachi looked worried, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

Kakashi was actually home when we got to the apartment, and he gave Okami an eye smile, though I knew his mouth wouldn't have anywhere close to the same expression.

I went to the bathroom to get the first aid kit and came back out to find Kakashi starting to make miso and Okami staring at his bleeding knuckles. I cleaned and bandaged his knuckles, and Okami didn't even flinched away from the disinfectant, which I knew burned like crazy. He just sat there, not moving or looking away from his knuckles. Obviously, he had a lot to think about.

Okami finally moved again when it was time to set the table, and he helped with whatever we asked him to, although he didn't say anything. Just as we were sitting down to eat, there was a scratching sound on the door. Kakashi walked over and opened it, only for Gin to charge in and tackled Okami out of his chair.

Gin nosed insistently at the wounds I had just bandaged, until Okami managed to sit up enough to wrap his arms around Gin's neck and just hold him there for a moment. I wasn't sure what to do or say. Gin whimpered, but then he was gone in a puff of smoke. Okami righted his chair and sat down again.

I inquired, "Was he okay?"

"He didn't want to leave," Okami explained quietly.

 _Flashback_

Okami is a Baby

Itachi

I was training with Shisui when a medic nin ran into the training grounds. He said, "Uchiha Itachi, your presence has been requested at the hospital."

My brow furrowed, and I wondered if this had something to do with the baby that I'd found in the courtyard the night before.

"Alright," I agreed, moving to walk towards the hospital.

"Hey," Shisui asked, "Mind if I tag along?"

I told him, "Not at all."

It didn't take us long to get to the hospital, and Sakura-san was waiting for me. Sakura-san had us step into her office.

"Itachi, we performed a DNA test on the baby your mother brought in a couple of nights ago," Sakura-san explained, "It seems there was a reason why he was left in your house hold's courtyard. He's your son."

"I believe you, although I do not know how it's possible," I informed her. I had not participated in that kind of indiscretion.

Sakura-san said, "You do have any number of options at this point, Itachi. Some of them you'll likely need to talk about with your parents."

"I see no reason not to take care of him," I told her, "I imagine I will need to collect him from where he's been staying?"

"There's some preparation you'll need to do first before you take a baby home. I think there's a book somewhere that should explain the basics. There are supplies you'll need as well. I'd recommend picking him up tonight at about eight, and I'll call the foster home and let them know you'll be coming. I'll write down their address for you," Sakura-san informed me, grabbing the book and then writing down the address.

I took the book. My mother would likely have a lot of advice to give me as well.

 **Hooray! an update, finally. I don't have any buffer, and I'm having a hard time writing the end of this arc for some reason, but hopefully I can finish this out and start the next one (which I have a couple of ideas for).**

 **I** ** _really_** **love seeing the comments some of you have been kind enough to send in. I love getting feedback, and it can help me come up with new ideas sometimes.**

 **Thanks specifically to for answering the question I asked in Chapter 23. I've been thinking about starting to get more into romantic relationships in this story, since the new Team Kakashi is starting to grow up a bit.**

 **Thank you all for reading. I hope I have more for you next week.**


	28. Rules

Present

Tsuki

Okami was alone when I got to the training grounds. He was sitting cross legged and appeared to be meditating.

He nodded towards me as I walked forward, but didn't otherwise greet me. I was surprised he wasn't bashing himself against a training dummy or a tree or something, but the bandages on his knuckles suggested he had already done that. Maybe someone had managed to talk him out of continuing with that sort of thing.

I sat down next to Okami, keeping a few inches between us. He was breathing deeply in through his nose and then out through his mouth. Maybe he was striving to keep calm and think of a plan to get Shikadai back. I didn't want to have to wait another six years before I got a teammate back. If I had been there, with how often I relied on the byakugan, I might have been able to prevent Shikadai from being taken at all. A selfish part of me pointed out that this could be a bonding opportunity for me and Okami, which I felt guilty for even thinking.

The girl that we'd saved, Fey, came running towards the field, and I wondered why she wasn't still in the hospital undergoing testing. She ran straight to Okami's sitting form, dropped to her knees, then latched onto him, prompting Okami to flinch and open his eyes, looking confused.

"I'm so sorry," Fey told him, "One of the medics told me about what happened to your friend. I hope they find him quickly." She sounded close to tears.

Okami said, "It's likely there will be some type of ransom demand soon. His family will be more than willing to supply whatever it is. Why are you here?"

"You just supported me so much when I first came here. I thought I'd return the favor," Fey admitted, even as she pulled away.

From what I'd seen, Okami hadn't enjoyed a single second he'd had to spend with Fey and had done whatever he could to avoid spending any time with her.

A medic ran into the field before Okami could say anything and scolded Fey while taking her back towards the hospital.

Okami said, "Civilians are confusing."

I nodded my agreement.

"Do you…" I started, somewhat unsure of myself, "Do you really think there will be a ransom demand?"

"I don't know. There had to be a reason why I was delivered to Danzo, and money would make the most sense," Okami replied. I could only hope he was right.

 _Flashback_

Okami is a Baby

Hibana

I cradled Okami gently. He was going to sleep in another home that had much fewer children and much stricter rules soon. It would lighten my load, but the boy joining the Uchiha would doubtlessly make him turn out as snobby and overbearing as the rest of them.

There was little I could do though. He would have better opportunities with the Uchiha, and I had no right to deny a father of his son. All I could do was raise the children in my care to be the best people they could be and just hope.

There was a firm knock at the door, and I opened it to find Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Mikoto. I passed the baby over to Itachi, and he cradled Okami correctly at least.

Mikoto said, "Thank you."

"I was simply doing as I always do," I replied.

The pair of Uchiha were kind enough to dip their heads at me before leaving with the newest in the line of clan heirs. Okami would doubtlessly be a little brat.

Present

Okami

My hands flashed through the hand signs instantly, trusting my instincts that someone who should not have been there was, my eyes spinning into the red and black marks that proved I was a true Uchiha.

Gin was beside me, and I passed the information I had to him without a thought. I'd been training alone, and I was on my way home for a dinner Mikoto-sama had insisted on having with me. Well, not just with me. She wanted both her grandchildren and their parents apparently.

My pack and I spread out in a spiral, searching for whatever it was that had caused alarm bells to go off in my head. I was hoping more than I likely should have that the man in the snake mask had returned.

Without warning, he dropped down in front of me, and I had a kunai to his throat in an instant, although I didn't slit it yet. I needed Shikadai before I could do that.

"Where is my friend?" I demanded.

The man replied, "I am not the only one who wears this mask. If I do not return to the others, your friend is dead. We want the girl."

"No," I told him, "I will not trade one member of my pack for another."

"Not the Hyuuga. We want Fey," the man corrected.

I demanded, "What's to stop me from killing you now and following your trail back to these 'others' and getting Shikadai back myself?"

"We poisoned him," the man informed me, "If we do not administer the cure by the full moon, he will die. If you meet us in the Valley of End with the girl and no one else the night before the full moon, we will return him to you otherwise unharmed." That gave me a week.

"How do I even know he's still alive?" I all but growled.

The man said, "We have no reason to kill him. He is still trapped in our leader's genjutsu, believing all he sees to be real. When we have Fey, you will never see us again."

"Fine," I relented, pulling back and sheathing my kunai, "I will be there with Fey."

The man nodded and disappeared.

"Will you choose the Pack or the village?" Gin asked.

I replied, "You already know the answer to that."

Shikadai

We were on a reflective sea of water, with clouds drifting by through the air. We were sitting at a low, traditional table, and there was a huge go board set out before us. There was a box to the side of each of us filled with pieces. The man sitting across from me was unfamiliar, but that was to be expected. He had short black and grey hair and a dark green kimono on. The kimono I was wearing was the charcoal of my clan's formal wear and likely had the clan emblem on the back.

"My men think I have you imprisoned in some version of reality," the man informed me.

I asked, "Why don't you?"

"I was busy while forming this jutsu, and this is the one I use most often, as it's how I initiate my men," the man explained, "Your hands are bound either way, so you cannot escape from this place."

I picked up the black token in the box to my right, placed it on the board and asked, "Why did you take Okami?"

"Danzo had the money and resources to find my missing wife and child. He was willing to help me as long as I did a few tasks for him," the man informed me, placing his white piece.

"I assume he didn't follow through with that promise," I concluded, "which is why you took me." I slid a black piece into place, going for a rather laid-back approach.

The man said, "I heard the Nara clan was full of geniuses. Danzo had my wife killed and then caused my daughter to turn into the beast that hides within those of my heritage, using a jutsu to turn her violent in the hopes of ninja from your village executing her for him."

"But now he's dead, and we saved Fey, so why kidnap me?" I inquired.

"I am an enemy of your village," the man replied, "and Okami would do anything to protect you, so he will turn Fey over to me without complaint."

"Then I suppose I'm just waiting for you to inform him of the ransom and for an exchange to take place."

"Yes. I will return you to Okami, although I imagine he won't be able to return to Konoha after giving Fey back to me."

I just had to hope that Okami was smarter than that.

 _Flashback_

Sasuke

Despite his sudden appearance, there was little difficulty integrating Okami into our daily lives. Itachi couldn't go on missions while Okami was growing up, but he'd had little need to spend his personal revenue, and there was no reason for him to move out of the main household.

The information percolated into the clan slowly, and well-wishers frequently left gifts for the new clan heir. There had been heirs of questionable heritage before, and it was obvious to anyone that looked at Okami that he was Itachi's son.

When the next clan meeting rolled around, it began with Father cradling Okami in his arms. He announced, "I am pleased to tell all of you that do not know that I am a grandfather. Uchiha Okami is the son of Uchiha Itachi, and the future heir to the Uchiha Clan."

"You are wrong," Sonkei corrected, "As a bastard, Uchiha Okami will not be considered a member of the main family or the heir to the clan unless he can display the sharingan."

Several faces looked shocked.

Chei, who was usually wise and kind, seemed to reluctantly agree, "Uchiha Okami should not be living in the main household either. If Itachi wishes to raise him, it must be without the support or aid of the main family."

"That law was not upheld even two generations after its creation, when it actually applied for the first time!" Mother objected.

There was silence in the room. It seemed the elders and the branch family heads were united in this. Father could not change clan law without at least two thirds of them agreeing with him, and while none of them would meet Mother's gaze, many of them were perfectly willing to glare at the infant in Father's arms.

They were forcing my brother and his new son out of their home, and there was nothing any of us could do to stop it.

Itachi stood gracefully, took Okami from Father's arms gently, and walked out of the room without glancing back at the elders or the branch family heads. They'd just made an enemy of the next man to serve as clan head, and likely the one after that as well.

 _Flashback_

ANBU Under Tenzo

Obito

There were too many missing nin, well-more than there should have been, and this had to be some form of retaliation for something one of us had unknowingly or otherwise done to slight Danzo.

We all had minor injuries at least, and it seemed the twenty missing nin we were up against were more than prepared for a team of ANBU to go up against them. That in itself was enough to prove that something was wrong.

Everyone on the team was pulling out every stop. Even Bunny resorted to his little-used skill with genjutsu, just trying to give us a short reprieve, which seemed to work for the moment. It wasn't very strong, and any approach we made on the missing nin would likely break it.

Cat opened his mouth to issue whatever his last-ditch plan was while he could.

Bunny spoke before he could, "Mouse-senpai, go to kamui. Take the others with you."

"He can't do that!" Hawk objected, "You can't face these people alone."

"Senpai?" Bunny asked, and his tone of voice asked me to do what sane ninja would think impossible. All ANBU were insane though, so that part was easy, it was the potential that someone that was at least no doubt much too young to be an ANBU—and perhaps even a jonin or chuunin—to know their own skills well enough to recognize whether or not they could take on the nineteen-remaining missing nin on their own in territory that wasn't familiar to them.

I didn't hesitate.

Cat inquired, never having been phased by the strange dimension or the journey to it, "Are you certain he'll survive?"

"Mostly," I told him, "Bunny wants to live more than anything, and he likely has jutsu that he doesn't use because they're recognizable as his own. He's the least injured and the best rested of all of us right now, and whatever that genjutsu was, not one of those nin broke out of it immediately, and it seemed most would be stuck for a while." No one I knew in ANBU didn't have at least one improvement or personalization of a jutsu, which meant there was something that Bunny had up his sleeve, hopefully, besides just a shiruken or two.


	29. Ransom

Present

Shikamaru

Temari was pacing. She wished we'd been waiting at the gate for him, no matter my assurances that it only would have put us in danger. We were lucky that it was a kidnapping and not a murder we were dealing with. Someone that went through the trouble to kidnap a ninja was certainly planning on returning him to someone that would have use of him, and I already had every member of the Nara Clan that wasn't on a mission looking and listening for any word of people trying to transport someone of Shikadai's description. All we could do was wait.

"Going with the Uchiha heir was supposed to keep him out of trouble. That's what you said when we heard the team assignments," Temari accused.

I pointed out, "It did, didn't it? Kakashi has never come here to tell us he was having disciplinary issues with Shikadai, and you said that Shikadai was less lazy about doing his chores after he started spending time with Okami."

"I just… I want him back," Temari informed me, "No matter what it takes, I want him back here. I don't want to be like Itachi. I don't want to have to declare our son dead without even a corpse."

There was a sharp knock at the door, and a noise that sounded suspiciously like growling.

"I don't care if they said they don't want to be disturbed! I need to speak with Shikamaru-sama immediately!" said a voice I had never imagined could take up the superior Uchiha tone that made most villagers fall in line immediately. It was the tone of voice most police officers had, so of course it was prone to making people listen.

Temari was too confused to act, for the moment, so I went over to our bedroom door and threw it open, giving a sharp look to the young guard that had attempted to keep Okami and one of his summons away. The guard ran off swiftly, and I knew he'd need a refresher course in just when a visitor was important enough to let through no matter what his orders were.

"Okami," I invited, "Come inside."

Okami bowed his head and stepped into the room. He was still wearing shoes. Apparently, his information couldn't wait.

"Okami! Do you have news?" Temari asked, sounding suddenly hopeful, even though she'd just been disparaging the fact that Shikadai and Okami were even on the same team.

Okami agreed, "Yes. I… I probably should have taken it to the Hokage, but I thought… my father… never mind. A few moments ago, I was on my way home from training, and I encountered a man with a snake mask in the forest. He claimed to be one of an organization of people that wear the snake mask, who are presently holding Shikadai. He gave me a date and time on which we can exchange Shikadai for Fey."

"Thank you for coming to us first," I told Okami, "I know village law would keep this information from us until the source could be confirmed."

"What?!" Temari demanded, glaring suddenly in the direction of the Hokage Tower, but she'd cool down fast enough. Her own village had nearly identical laws.

Okami suggested, "If one or both of you will come with me, the Hokage should still be in his office. I sent one of my other wolves on ahead to let him know that I needed to speak with him."

"Of course," I agreed, "Temari, are you coming?"

Temari glared at me, and I motioned for Okami to lead the way. Really, his wolf summons ran on ahead of us, likely trying to make certain that we weren't about to encounter anyone that wasn't from Konoha, which I imagined the wolf was capable of distinguishing somehow.

Naruto was indeed in his office, looking exhausted, and still hosting Neji, who I greeted with a half wave.

"Hokage-sama," Okami greeted with a deep bow, "I've received some news of Shikadai's whereabouts." ( _I know that was cheap tension when Gin asked Okami if he was choosing the pack or the village, but Gin was just making certain that Okami still had his priorities straight. Gin would consider his family a Pack, so that's why he referred to Shikadai's family in the same way. Okami wanted to make certain that Shikamaru and Temari knew what was going on_.)

 _Flashback_

Okami in ANBU under Tenzo

Okami

The instant the other ANBU vanished, I was forming the hand signs and summoning forth my wolf pack. They didn't need information. It was obvious who their enemies were, and I could feel the genjutsu slip, even as I pulled out the pair of swords I shouldn't have brought with me as often as I did.

I filled them both with fire and started feeding my sharingan too. It'd give me five minutes to take out four ANBU-level shinobi, five jonnin, and the ten high-level chuunin. Mouse-senpai would leave kamui when he either felt all of my chakra disappear or all of the enemies' chakra disappear. The chuunin I could leave to most of the pack, although Kuki and Gurudo would be helping me. Kuki to get them off the ground and Gurudo to turn the former Iwa-nin's own elemental affinity against them.

I didn't hesitate for an instant to start cutting through the enemy, focused more on the channeling than White Fang would have liked, but he wasn't here now, and I couldn't stay in practice with most of the skills I'd displayed during the chuunin exam.

Five minutes came too soon, and with it, I lost the sharingan and my swords, left with only the chakra that wouldn't allow for much, so I stopped channeling and focused on stabbing, slashing, and eeking out what I could from the three remaining of my share. Sending my team away would likely prove to be a mistake, but Mouse-senpai had cuts on him, which meant he was low on chakra, and Cat-senpai had been running low himself. I'd just gotten topped off by a wolf pack, so I was the best option, but only if I was unrestrained.

Desperation suggested I try one of the Mokuton that Mouse-senpai used, but that was as likely to kill me as it was to kill the ninja I was fighting, and I wouldn't do that to my pack. Gin's group was almost done with the last of the chuunin. If I could hold on until they were done, we'd win. Probably. There were no guarantees here.

My left arm got a long cut across my bicep, which would be annoying to get treated, as most medic nin would want my sleeves gone, and I wasn't capable of allowing that. I tried for another genjutsu, but the pain and the ability of the three-remaining shinobi kept that from happening. I wished for Shikadai's ability to stop them in their tracks.

Without warning, a huge snake came from a large blast of unfamiliar chakra, and my hands went to summon the Wolf Boss almost without thinking, but I stopped just before I could complete the jutsu, as suddenly the remaining ninja were dead, and I was left staring at the monster snake and a white skinned man with a Konoha hiate.

I dispelled my wolves immediately, and my team reappeared just as the last puff of smoke faded.

Dog came over to treat me, while Cat-senpai went to talk to the sannin.

Hawk was too tired to look around with his Byakugan, which was the only thing that saved me. One paw print, and he could get my pack killed entirely by accident. Mouse-senpai had heeded his own promise, no longer searching for my identity, but his eyes could find the paw prints just as easily.

Orochimaru of the sannin spent most of his time in a laboratory, studying things in the field, or going on otherwise impossible to complete missions, if memory served. I hoped he hadn't heard of my kidnapped status, or if he had, he at least wouldn't know I had wolf summons.

I waited until night fall and volunteered to take the first watch, glad to see that the sannin stayed awake as well. Perhaps I could ask him politely to keep my secret. Still, I maintained my position on watch dutifully, not certain how to broach the question.

"You," the sannin informed me, standing before me with a suddenness that was clearly meant to put me on guard, "are an annomally."

"I do not understand your words," I replied.

The sannin said, "Root care not for anyone or even themselves. They would not fight with the desperation you just showed or risk revealing themselves to non-Root to save their own lives. You are more dangerous than any of them, I think."

"I am only dangerous to those that threaten the village," I informed him, "I would do anything to protect it."

"No, if that were true, you would turn on Danzo. I will tell no one of what I saw, but you should know that you are all that it would take to turn the village on the Root, Uchiha." His voice was harder than I'd expected from him, and perhaps I was not the only enemy Danzo had made over the years. It was more than likely that I wasn't even the most affluent, given that I would only have my family backing me up, and even the Uchiha Clan couldn't stand against the might of the Legendary Sannin.

I stared into the night as the sannin returned to his own bedroll and wondered if what he said was true. Maybe, just maybe, I could find a way to go home. ( _I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that fight scenes are harder than I want to admit they are_.)

Sakura

"It's just dinner, Sasuke," I pointed out, "You don't need to try to get out of it. Your parents like me well enough, and they love Sarada."

"I don't like the formality of it. I think Mikoto and Itachi have something planned," Sasuke replied.

I asked, "Like what?"

"I have no idea," Sasuke told me, "but I can assure you that they're dangerous when they conspire together."

"You're just upset that they managed to throw you a surprise party for your birthday, even though that was years ago, and it was well deserved," I said with a grin.

Sasuke pointed out, "There's any number of other things I'd rather be doing right now."

"Mikoto already rescheduled once," I pointed out, "Don't think she won't do it again to make sure we can all be there."

Sasuke was still frowning. He straightened his haori, and I went to make certain that Sarada hadn't managed to get tangled in her obi again. It had happened nearly every time she'd worn one in the past, although I was hoping she was old enough that it was no longer an issue.

I was happy to see Sarada was still wearing her clothes properly. She was sitting with a book of jutsus and practicing hand signs without channeling any chakra.

I inquired, "Is that your homework, Sarada?"

"No," Sarada told me, and she was engrossed enough in what she was doing that she didn't start talking my ear off the way she normally would. It was somewhat disconcerting, and I wondered a little why she was so focused on her practice.

Sasuke came down stairs, and I knew it was about time to leave.

"Alright," I said, "Put the book away, and we'll get going to your grandparents' house."

Sarada complied readily enough, and then she was telling me all about what she'd learned that day during her own training. Evidently, they were starting to practice with dulled shuriken.

It was a bit of a walk to the main family's household, but the guards let us inside readily enough. Okami and Itachi came in while we were still changing from sandals into slippers. Okami's hands were still in bandages, but they were much lighter than they'd been even compared to the night before. Perhaps he'd actually allowed a medic to see to them, although that seemed unlikely.

I opened my mouth and turned to Sarada, planning on introducing her to her only first cousin, when she unexpectedly ran up to Okami and asked, "Okami, what happened to your hands?"

"Ah, I trained a little too hard the other day," Okami told her, offering her something close to a smile.

"Why haven't you had them healed?" Sarada demanded, putting her hands on her hips, "My mom says that you're always supposed to get healed when you get hurt, so you can heal up fast!"

Okami explained, "I was just busy, and they're not too serious. I'll get them healed soon if they're not already all better."

"Okay! I've been practicing hand signs a lot, and I got put in time out after you brought me back to Hokori-sensei. It was kind of boring, but you were right! Focusing on hand signs made it seem to take no time at all, although Hokori-sensei was a little upset when I told him you weren't going to hurt me, even after he tried to tell me you were," Sarada said.

"I'm sorry to hear that you got into trouble, but you really shouldn't have snuck away from those meant to watch you," Okami told her, "Even here in Konoha, there's a lot of danger that could befall you. You are right though, I wouldn't hurt you, Sarada-kun."

I remarked, "I don't think I've heard about this adventure."

Sarada looked suddenly anxious, and she was hiding behind Okami in seconds, which wasn't really that surprising. She usually warmed to new people rather quickly, and they'd evidently met before.

"I assumed she or her sensei would have informed you, otherwise I would have. Sarada was curious as to why she and her classmates were told that they should not approach my father's household. Evidently, her sensei told her class that there was a dangerous ninja living there. She found me training in the back yard. I gave her breakfast and escorted her back to her sensei," Okami told us.

"Excuse me," one of the household servants said with a deep bow, "Fugaku-sama and Mikoto-sama are awaiting your arrival in the main dining room."

Itachi said, "Thank you, Kanari-san."

Sarada was now talking Okami's ear off, which was at least a change of pace. I'd have to discuss with Sasuke what we were going to do. It seemed we needed to have a talk with Hokori.

 **I promise, the ark will end next time I update. I just have to... you know... write the end of the ark... because of that thing I mentioned about fight scenes being harder to write than I am willing to admit... Anyway, hope you enjoyed a sneak peak into the beginnings of an Uchiha family dinner :) (I never thought I was going to write Sakura, but hey, I don't think I did** ** _too_** **terribly.**


	30. Trade

Shikadai

The genjutsu faded just as I won another round of go. My hands and feet were bond tightly together. Okami was standing on the head of the statue opposite the group of men surrounding me, and he had Fey sitting next to him.

Okami called out, his voice amplified by chakra so we could hear him at all, "Give me Shikadai and the antidote, and I'll give you Fey."

"That's not quite the deal," one of the men near me replied, "We'll give you Shikadai, you'll give us Fey, and once most of us are safely away with her, we'll give you the antidote."

"Fine," Okami relented.

One of the men near me cut the ties that were keeping me in place, and I stumbled to my feet, then used a chakra infused leap to get to Okami.

I asked quietly, "You have a plan, right?"

"I wouldn't say it's my plan," Okami replied, "There is _a_ plan, but I don't deserve credit."

"How do I get over there?" Fey asked nervously.

Okami glanced at her, then he activated his sharingan, picked her up, and jumped back over the gap between the two heads. He was back in seconds, and the snake masked people started leaving. His eyes were still swirling when he got back, as he clearly wanted to avoid any genjutsu that the man that had taken me could think to throw at him.

Most of the masked people left, and when they were out of sight, the one remaining threw a vial to Okami, which Okami easily snatched out of the air. The man ran off in the direction of his fellows, and as soon as he too was out of sight, Sakura descended on us.

She asked me, "How are you feeling?" She took the vial from Okami's hand, clearly intending to examine it as best she could to insure it wouldn't kill me.

"My hands and feet hurt a bit, likely from restricted blood flow," I told her, "but I don't feel sick or anything."

"This at least isn't another poison. Still, whatever is in you shouldn't take effect until tomorrow by all accounts, so I'd like to give you and it a thorough examination before giving you this supposed antidote," Sakura informed me.

I nodded a little.

Sakura continued, "Still, we should avoid getting your pulse racing, just in case that accelerates the time table. Okami, can you carry him back to the village?"

"Of course," Okami agreed, easily getting into position for me to ride on his back.

The run back to the village didn't take long, although we didn't slow until we got to the hospital.

Sakura drew some of my blood, and left me and Okami in a room to wait. My parents arrived shortly after we did.

"What's going to happen to those men?" I asked, "What was the plan?"

Okami told me, "Well…"

Sasuke

Shikadai climbed onto Okami's back, and as soon as they and Sakura were away, I started moving with my team. The civilian was slowing down the group of masked nin just enough for us to start to catch up to them. Evidently, they hadn't thought Okami would be willing to risk Shikadai's life just to catch them. They were somewhat right. Okami had been the one to insist that we wait to begin closing our circle until they were safely away.

All of us dashed silently through the forest, trailing after the men in snake masks, waiting patiently for the proper zone. They reached another clearing in the forest and were stopped in their tracks without warning. Three sets of sharingan flared to life, matched easily by two sets of byakugan. The six of us dashed in and easily tied up the men and started removing their masks. As soon as the last of them were secured, several Nara clan members started to step out of the shadows, including Shikamaru. They let their hold on the prisoners drop, which caused several of them to struggle and begin to curse.

"I'm shocked," one of them remarked, who looked enough like Fey for anyone to draw the proper conclusion, "I didn't think that Okami would risk the life of one of the members of his pack."

"He didn't," Shikamaru replied.

( _Sorry if I accidentally leave an 'm' out of any words for the next couple of updates and the last one. My 'm' key is being really weird, but this had happened before, and normally, the issue resolves itself_.)

Okami

I finished lamely, "Anyway, they should be back soonish. Your dad told us he was planning to leave as soon as he was certain that the leader had been taken."

Temari came into the room and started checking over Shikadai herself, as if Aunt Sakura wasn't already doing that.

"Alright, this antidote seems like it will do what it's intended to, but I mixed a new one, just to be safe," Aunt Sakura said, walking towards Shikadai with a needle.

Shikadai made a face, but didn't flinch when he was injected.

Shikadai asked, "Where's Tsuki?"

"She was one of the two Byakugan users that volunteered for this mission. The other was Hema. Then there was Kakashi, Obito, my dad, and Uncle Sasuke for the sharingan users. I don't know all the names of who was there from your clan, but I was led to believe that enough Nara were there to constitute overkill," I told him.

"I wanted to insist on more," Temari remarked, "but your dad thought that stealth would be of the essence for this mission."

Shikadai inquired, "Did anything happen while I was away?"

I wrinkled my nose.

"My father and Mikoto-sama conspired together to find a way to force the clan to like me at least a little better. It's reasonable enough, I suppose. They want me to become betrothed," I explained.

Shikadai and Temari looked shocked. As Sakura had already heard this piece of news, she didn't react or turn away from her paperwork.

"Was there…" Shikadai started, "was there someone they want you to become betrothed to?"

I shook my head and said, "No, the main thing is that I have to become open to betrothal. That will change my status in the clan again, which will open me up to officially being clan heir. I likely won't get much say in the matter, although my father might intervene on my behalf if the council tries to recommend someone truly unsuited for the role. It's how the first bastard heir to the clan got away with living in the main household, as his mother just said he was open to betrothal to anyone within his age range. Mikoto-sama found the documentation recently while searching the library to ensure there was no way that the clan council could cause me to be harmed now. She said that this should seal all loop holes."

"Will this change anything then?" Shikadai inquired.

"Evidently there's going to be a party, but it won't really change anything," I replied with a shrug, "Eligible Uchiha females might hang around our training sessions sometimes, but most of them will move tables if I sit near them at a restaurant, so I doubt they'll be willing to be seen with me. Also, Gin and his mate are going to have a litter soon, so Auka won't be with my pack for a while when I summon them."

Shikadai queried, "Does that mean more wolves for you?"

"Well…" I started.

Shikamaru came in then, looking a little strained, but he smiled when he saw Shikadai. He walked up and ruffled his son's hair, making Shikadai smile.

"I'm okay, dad," Shikadai offered, "Sakura gave me the antidote, so I'll be alright."

Aunt Sakura added, "I would like to keep you overnight, just to be certain you're alright. Then you should be able to get back to your normal day to day life. I think Kakashi said he was giving your team a week off before you start training again. I'm surprised you don't seem to have any muscle atrophy, Shikadai. Weren't you kept in a genjutsu the whole time?"

"I was," Shikadai agreed, his brow furrowing.

"Well, I'm sure T&I will find an answer to that," Aunt Sakura remarked with a shrug, "After you get out tomorrow, I'd like to see you before you go on any missions. Alright?"

Shikadai nodded emphatically.

Aunt Sakura said, "Anyway, I'm sorry, but at least two of you will have to leave. Visiting hours are long past over."

"See you later," I offered. ( _Ha! I finished the arc! Anyway, Okami is just assuming they'll have him marry someone within the clan like a second or third cousin_.)

Obito

Restrained as the man was, I probably didn't need to keep my sharingan active, but something made me distrust the restraints. This was a man that had successfully used a genjutsu on Okami twice and Kakashi once. I wouldn't take any chances.

"Perhaps you will tell me," the man asked, more calm than he had any right to be, "is my daughter safe?

"Assuming that's Fey, then yes, she's fine. She's already on her way back to her village," I informed him.

The man said, "I'd hoped the Wolf wouldn't be able to think straight with one of his pack in danger, but it seems he managed to form a plan quite easily. I underestimated him."

"Are you the one that took him in the first place?" I inquired, deciding to do my best to keep my tone even, since he wasn't refusing to answer any of my questions.

"Yes," the man replied, "Danzo said he'd find my wife, her sister, and my daughter for me in exchange. He had my wife killed, caused my daughter to turn into her bestial form, and my wife's sister was already long dead."

I concluded, "She was the one that left Fey at the village in the first place."

"Yes, we were escaping from those that thought all of my family were monsters that had to be destroyed. My sister-in-law was hurt, but she and my wife had abilities that made them hard to track. We went our separate ways, hoping to meet again later," the man informed me.

"Why go to Okami?" I queried, "If you had come to the village and told us what Danzo had done, you wouldn't have ended up in prison."

The man smiled and said, "I would have been trapped either way. I know that your village would have wanted to use my skills to your advantage, but I had no desire to take orders from anyone. With Danzo, we were making fair exchanges. Here, you would ask for my loyalty, something I can no longer give."

I shook my head but said nothing else. T&I would ask him more questions, but I had the answers I needed. I walked out of the cell, put away my ANBU gear, and returned home to get a good night's sleep.

 **Arc finished! I won't promise another update soon, but at least this arc is complete for the time being. Please, leave a review to let me know what you think.**


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